Meghan Markle shares never-before-seen photos as she opens up about 'huge health scare'

Meghan Markle has shared some never-before-seen snaps of herself as a youngster to celebrate the launch of her new podcast.

The first episode of the Duchess' new series, Confessions of a Female Founder, landed today. In the podcast debut, Meghan gets candid about family life, health and business with her close friend Whitney Wolfe Herd, the CEO of dating app Bumble.

And ahead of the in-depth chat airing, the Duchess, who recently launched her lifestyle brand As Ever and Netflix cooking show With Love, Meghan, shared some sweet throwback photographs of herself selling cookies as a young girl scout.

Meghan wrote: "Being an entrepreneur can start young. (By the way, all these years later, I'm still selling cookies!) Tune in for the premiere episode of 'Confessions of a Female Founder' featuring my dear friend, @whitney, now streaming wherever you get your podcasts! @lemonadamedia."

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Last week, Meghan's newly launched As Ever products sold out in a matter of minutes, with fans eagerly purchasing her luxury raspberry spread, which sells for around £10, £15 flower sprinkles, which are £15, and £10 herbal teas.

The mum-of-two grew up in Los Angeles, California, an ocean away from the pomp and pageantry of . Famously, she showed a passion for women's issues from an early age, writing to Procter & Gamble to urge them to change a dishwashing advert she and her classmates deemed sexist. Now Meghan, who worked at a frozen yoghurt shop as a teen, has shown that she also had a head for business long before her rise to fame.

Announcing the products were available to buy last week, Meghan told followers: "We're live! Come shop the As ever collection I've poured so much love into. So excited to share this with you." She then cautioned: "Limited quantities for each seasonal drop."

This comes at a busy time for Meghan, whose cooking show With Love, Meghan landed on just last month. She's also taken the time to discuss some of the personal struggles she's had to contend with behind the scenes.

In the first episode of her new podcast, Meghan opened up about a "huge medical scare" she experienced after giving birth. While chatting with businesswoman Whitney, Meghan revealed: "We both had very similar experiences — though we didn't know each other at the time — with postpartum, and we both had preeclampsia. Postpartum preeclampsia. It’s so rare and so scary.

"And you're still trying to juggle all of these things, and the doesn't know what's happening quietly. And in the quiet, you're still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children — but those things are huge medical scares."

In response, Whitney said: "I mean life or death, truly." Pre-eclampsia is a condition that can affect some pregnant women and usually occurs during the second half of (from 20 weeks) or shortly after they give birth. Meghan didn't specify whether the condition occurred during Archie ot Lilibet's birth.

According to the website, although most pre-eclampsia cases cause no problems and improve soon after the baby's birth, there is still the risk of severe complications for both mother and child. This includes potentially life-threatening fits known as "eclampsia".

Reflecting on her own memories of Meghan's early motherhood, Whitney recalled: "I'll never forget the image of you after you delivered Archie, and the whole world was waiting for his debut.

"I was either just becoming or about to become a new mom, and I was like, 'Oh my God, how is this woman doing this? How is this woman putting on heels and going and debuting a child in this, you know, beautiful outfit in front of the entire world?' I could barely face a doorbell delivery for takeout food in a robe."

Meghan also told the New York Times in an email: "I hope Confessions of a Female Founder reminds listeners they're not alone. These are honest conversations with women who've built from the ground up, faced challenges and kept going."

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