Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, stars of the hit show 19 Kids and Counting, may be welcoming a new addition to their family in the near future. In fact, the Duggars are so serious about wanting another little one that they have gone to see a fertility doctor in hopes of adding baby number 20 to their ever-growing brood.
Michelle Duggar is nearly 48-years-old, which leads one to question if it is safe for her to continuing having children this late in life. After all, she had a very difficult time while pregnant with her last child, Josie. Duggar suffered from life-threatening preeclampsia, which forced her to undergo an emergency C-section 25 weeks into the pregnancy.
Baby Josie arrived weighing only one pound and six ounces. Due to her tiny size and being premature, she was moved to the neonatal intensive care unit. Then at eight days old, she suffered a bowel perforation that caused even more health problems for the tiny baby. Josie got off to a rough start in life, but the Duggars were lucky because today, she is a happy, healthy four year old.
However, in 2011 at the age of 45, when Michelle became pregnant again, the outcome was not so good. During the second trimester, at five months pregnant, she suffered a miscarriage. The tragic loss was devastating not only for Michelle and Jim Bob, but for the entire Duggar family.
Last year, after visiting an orphanage in China, the Duggars talked about considering adoption, and while they were excited at the possibility of adding another child to their family, they were unsure if that was God’s plan for them. Michelle said if she were to become pregnant again, she would know, without doubt, that God wanted to bless them with another child. However, it was difficult to know if adoption was the right thing for her and Jim Bob to do and she wanted to be sure that if they did adopt, it was His will.
Apparently, the Duggars have decided that adoption is not right for them, at least not now, because they have gone to see a fertility doctor in hopes of adding baby number 20 to their family. Michelle explained that they were seeing the doctor to make sure she is in good physical condition and able to “catch” a baby if God were to see fit to send them one.
During the doctor visit, Michelle underwent numerous tests in an effort to determine where she is in life “hormonally speaking” as well as her ability to carry another pregnancy to term and give birth. Dr. Paul Wendel explained that while he does occasionally see pregnancies in older women, they are very unusual because as a woman ages, her chance of getting pregnant naturally drop. This means that the chance of Michelle getting pregnant, at nearly 48-years-old, is less than five percent. He went on to talk about the rates of Down syndrome saying the risk depends on the mother’s age. “At age 20, the risk is about one in every 2,000 babies. At 30, it is one in every 1,000. At 35, it is about one in 350. At 40, it is one in 100. At 45, it is about one in every 10 to 15, and by 47, Michelle’s age, Down syndrome affects one in every four or five births.”
Michelle did not seem worried by Dr. Wendel’s comments. In fact, she admits that she is aware of these statistics and has been warned about them, with every pregnancy, from the age of 36 on. She went on to say that if she cannot have any more children, she will be happy with that; however, she wants to be healthy and ready for a baby if God decides to bless her with another one.
While Michelle and Jim Bob have seen a fertility doctor and are hopeful that baby number 20 will soon be on the way, perhaps it is time for the Duggars to stop trying to have more children and simply be happy with the ones God has already given them. Maybe Michelle and Jim Bob need to embrace a new season in their lives. One in which they finish raising their younger children, enjoy relationships with their grown children and welcome more grandbabies into the family instead of trying to have more babies of their own.
Opinion by Donna W. Martin
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21 Responses
Never happened.
high order multiples next stupid and scary
GO FOR IT NAY SAYERS AND HATERS FORGET THEM IN THE BIBLE SARAH AND MOSES HAD A BABY AND THEY WERE IN THERE 1OO WHEN THEY HAD ISSAC SO PERCENTAGES DO NOT MEAN SQUAT.
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LMS SHE IS 48 YRS OLD. The likely hood that she eta pregnant naturally is slim. So she will most likely need fertility treatments.I think they need to give their heads a shake and give it up already..!!!!!
Love them!!! I wish more families could be this way
I don’t understand why there is such a glamorization of the Kardashian family and so much hatred and spite towards a family that stands up for their beliefs. They are kind, self-supporting, and appear to love each other and God. Why do you berate them so? I believe a lot has to do with jealousy.
Cad…. I’m not a bible thumper but I’ve never heard a single shred of hate come from the Duggars…. They actually don’t seem to “preach” anything but explain what they feel is right for them and wish for their family. Is it not Ok for them to have opinions on what is right and wrong? I have opinions don’t you?
Perhaps your distain for a family who supports themselves regardless of how many children they have and live life in away different from the self serving, consumptive, materialistic way (by the way guilty myself) we are used in this country means if you’re looking for a hater, your mirror might me a great place to start.
I’m surfing their blog, and it says that the reason they stopped doing birth control was because their second child was miscarried while Michelle was on birth control, and she and Jim Bob came to the realization that ‘their selfish actions had taken the life of their child’. Look at what happened with Jubilee. This article is making me think that Michelle just likes being pregnant, or wants to continue being able to claim she delivered all of her children. If that’s the case (and I can’t see why it wouldn’t be), wouldn’t you think the same would go for Jubilee? She was so selfish and she wanted to be pregnant again so badly, even after what happened with Josie, that she didn’t care how hard it would be on her body. She didn’t care the risk it would have, not only on her, but on the baby too. She says that they are allowing God to do their family planning for them, and that He’ll bless them with as many kids as He sees fit. Well, there’s a difference between letting God have control of their plans, and actually TRYING to have kids despite everything they’ve gone through. My mom was 37 when she had my sister and she and my dad knew that with how high-risk my sister was, having another kid would be bad for both my mom AND the baby. You’d think a family like the Duggars would start to wonder by now ‘Hey, maybe God’s telling us it’s time we stop trying. It’s just too risky.’ I’m really curious on how this is going to play out.
Quick someone..call Guiness Books of World records! Jim Bob’s at it again! We can’t have the little woman going more than four months without being pregnant!
These people are hipocricts, they don’t do birth control, but a fertility dr is ok. Their show needs to be canceled, they promote hate
I haven’t seen the show in awhile, but since when do they promote hate? What do they say or do on the show that promotes the viewers to hate something or someone?
Hard to understand how giving an abandoned child a home could be against God’s will.
they are a family that we all need to use as roll models – maybe not the quantity but of their quality of life of their family! thank goodness for TV so we can see that it IS possible for a family to live as nice as they are!
… She’s seeing the doctor to make sure she’s healthy, and probably to improve her chances of carrying a baby to term IF she gets pregnant. They’re not seeing the specialist specifically to get pregnant, but since they don’t use birth control it’s bound to happen again anyway, and she might as well be ready.
Yeah, I thought kids were a blessing from God, and to leave it in God’s hands. A fertility doctor is not God.
I admire this family and think they are amazing but…I think that it is time to focus on the grandchildren!
Leaving it in God’s hands doesn’t include needing a fertility specialist!
I think God expects us to use our common sense as well. In his infinite wisdom He slows down the ability to become pregnant as we get older. Visiting a fertility doctor pretty much goes against the whole “leaving it in God’s hand” they like to say when it comes to having any more children. It is what it is, they should just enjoy the children they have and the beautiful grand babies coming their way.
IV-for is in right now; Make sure the number of babies implanted is the number that you desire to have…..
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