November 14, 2011
Oh, No! Michelle Duggar is Pregnant Again
OMG, Michelle Duggar is pregnant again. Is she competing with the wife of Feodor Vassilyev? Vassilyev was pregnant 27 times between 1725 and 1765 and gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets. 67 children survived infancy making her the woman who had the most documented number of children in the world. Vassilyev had a history of multiple births. What’s Duggar’s excuse?
I’ve written about Duggar before out of genuine concern and received over 2,000 comments on the Basil and Spice website. Many were unkind. People like Duggar because of her affable personality but want to ignore the facts: with each subsequent pregnancy, her life becomes fraught with danger. Her last pregnancy was extremely high-risk, complicated by pre-eclampsia and the emergency premature delivery of her daughter who only weighed 1.3 pounds at birth. It was a very close call. According to Answers.com, the Duggar family gets paid an estimated $25,000 to $75,000 per episode on the reality television show on Channel TLC. So, is it perhaps the show’s ratings that have prompted this 45 year old mother of 19 children to have yet another child? Is it the Baby-Doll syndrome where women have multiple children because they like the baby doll effect of having a newborn? I’m still scratching my head. However, I would be remiss if I did not, as an obstetrician offer some advice (albeit unsolicited) regarding the dangers of extreme parity (aka a great number of pregnancies). It was the same advice I offered almost 2 years ago.
- Mrs. Duggar, you are 45 years old and have what’s known in obstetrics as Advanced Maternal Age. This condition predisposes you to several high-risk conditions including pre-eclampsia, preterm labor and a host of other issues.
- You’ve carried 19 children in your uterus and its muscles are stretched to the max. Post-partum hemorrhage lies high on the list as a future complication and is the most common cause of maternal death in the industrialized world.
- You’ve also had a cesarean section and now have the potential to have a placental abruption (early placenta separation from the uterus) as well as a placenta accreta (the placenta sticks to the uterine incision and is extremely difficult to remove).
The Bible says to go forth and multiply and you’ve followed directions well. Now pat yourself on the back and give your body a well deserved rest. You escaped serious harm because of Divine Intervention and a skilled medical staff. Please, do not push the envelope.
ShotgunOpera said,
December 5, 2011 at 11:21 pm
THANK YOU!! we at freejinger.org have been saying this forever!
drlindagalloway said,
December 5, 2011 at 11:37 pm
So have I (lol). I am truly frightened for her family. Thanks for reading my post and sharing your comments.
KellyBSN said,
December 6, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Then there is the very high risk of a chromosome anomaly. If I remember a 45 year old has 1 in 18 risk for any chromosomal defect.
drlindagalloway said,
December 6, 2011 at 11:24 pm
You’re correct, Kelly. The stats are 1:19 risk for all chromosomal anomalies for pregnant women at age 45. Thanks so much for your comments. Really appreciate the discussions going on at Freejinger.com Hope all of you will “like” me on Facebook. It will help me gain visibility in the online community. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/SmartMothersGuide Thanks for your comment!
A.Roddy said,
December 7, 2011 at 2:32 am
Plenty of women have healthy babies in their forties but not 19 kids. I can understand maybe if a she had no children but to risk leaving 19 with no mother is inane. i don’t care if she is 25 or 35. 19 kids must be rough on the body. But just think. Some 20 somethings are infertile or have complications well before they are Michelle and Kelly Batese’s age. Michelle had preclampsia with Jana and John David before 30. I wonder what happens if Anna get sin similar circumstance like Josie before she reaches 30.
drlindagalloway said,
December 7, 2011 at 11:15 am
Thanks for your response. I wasn’t aware of Kelly Bates prior to your discussion. Do you think, perhaps that’s why Duggar is now pregnant with #20? Is there friendly competition occurring between Duggar and Bates? Bates had three miscarriages after 18 kids? Do you think maybe a Higher Power was trying to tell her something but she turned down the volume? Three miscarriages is a row is statistically significant. Both women are playing Russian Roulette with their lives. Let’s keep their children in prayer. Thanks for your comments. Hope you’ll “like” me on Facebook so that I reach a greater online community. Here’s the link https://www.facebook.com/SmartMothersGuide Thanks again for your comment. It was very informative.
We Are Not Surprised: Michelle Duggar Loses 20th Pregnancy « Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway said,
December 12, 2011 at 11:30 am
[...] to the aghast of many including this author. We squirmed in our seats. We moaned. We groaned. We blogged. The combination of Duggar’s 19 children and her advanced maternal age of 45 is enough to make [...]
We Are Not Surprised: Michelle Duggar Loses 20th Pregnancy : The Smart Mother's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy said,
December 12, 2011 at 11:32 am
[...] to the aghast of many including this author. We squirmed in our seats. We moaned. We groaned. We blogged. The combination of Duggar’s 19 children and her advanced maternal age of 45 is enough to make [...]
Michelle Duggar Miscarries: What Caused It? - Better Health said,
December 20, 2011 at 3:06 pm
[...] to the aghast of many including this author. We squirmed in our seats. We moaned. We groaned. We blogged. The combination of Duggar’s 19 children and her advanced maternal age of 45 is enough to make [...]
Hayley Ferguson said,
March 15, 2012 at 12:31 pm
You women obviously do not understand about their faith. Because you do not believe in the same God as the Duggars or Bates you would not understand and your concern makes a lot of sense. There is a Biblical NT passage about women who continue in holiness with sobriety being saved through childbirth. I could go on with a lot of well researched info but the scenario is different for a women totally committed to the Lord Jesus than for a woman who is not. I personally am 27 weeks pregnant with my 11th pregnancy in 13 years and yes I sustained one miscarriage which I believe was of my own doing by not being sensible with over the counter pain relief. I believe the Lord Jesus sees my faith and dedication and counts it as righteousness (not that this alone saves me) and no I’m not roman catholic or mormon or any other denomination other Christian. The Bible doesn’t indicate that Christians ought to be doing anything to avoid pregnancy and it is He who opens and closes the womb and not we ourselves. You would not even be giving this advice unless we lived in the time we do and the antiChrist culture that we live in. My own parents are “concerned” for me everytime I have another baby and this started with no 2 when I was 21 and I’m now 33. I have had one hospital birth and 8 free-births. All has gone well and there are natural ways to stop PP heamorrhage. I also have God there with me. I don’t know of any other muscle in the body that gets weaker the more you use it, do you? When people want to live immoral lifestyles we say it’s up to them, do not judge. When people want to follow their faith (usually only when Christian) we believe we have a say. Do you give unsolicited advice to the homosexual because their belief structure leads to an earlier death than if they were heterosexual? (certain types of rectal cancers are only found in male homosexuals for instance.) The Duggars were by the network and prayed very earnestly and sincerely and decided that this might help others, it helped me just to know about them (and I haven’t watched any of their shows really, we don’t have tv.) I am reading their first book currently and it has been a real blessing. I believe they would be blessed with this many whether they knew any other large families or not or got paid per episode or not. If you were offered money to produce a show about some amazing thing in your life you might accept too (I don’t know if they did or not, I’m just saying.) I would still leave fertility in the Lords’ hands even if I was the only woman on earth that did it, because I believe that is what the Lord has shown me in His Word. The world at large is willing to pay great sums of money to know about celebrities and sports stars (who are paraded in front of us to distract us from real issues BTW) why not learn of some more wholesome people instead? Anyway I know I wouldn’t have covered every angle and I know that as an OB you are trained to be on the alert for high-risk pregnancy related problems, so it would be hard to look at it the same way Michelle and Jim-Bob and I and my husband do. My first baby (who I had at 19) was 8 weeks early. My pregnancy ended early maybe that should have put me off having anymore because I was now considered at risk for further premature babies. It’s about trusting God (not the universe) for the outcome no matter what that may be. I had a friend who’s sister died giving birth to her third child in a hospital (placental embolism if I remember correctly) the baby died also, maybe she should have patted herself on the back with the two she had and not risk it? After I had my 6th a hospital doc (I thought this might be easier to take the baby to the hospital to get “proof” for a birth cert. not so) suggested I have any subsequent babies at hospital because of my advanced maternal age (I was 28 most women are not even having their first at that age in Australia.) I couldn’t believe it :-O My mother told me that I had a great Aunty (I think it was) who had her last at 53 and she had 21 children so maybe genetically I’m built for it too, although I’m only 5″1′ short. My largest baby was 9p 4oz and the smallest was 3p 12oz and I think this one is going to be big too. I look after my health well and I walk a lot (I did have hyperemisis this time around so haven’t done as much walking until now.)
drlindagalloway said,
March 19, 2012 at 9:54 am
Haley, thanks for your comment. One of the many things that I love about our country is the freedom to express our opinions. Thank you for expressing yours.
Mitsy said,
April 5, 2012 at 3:49 pm
“Leaving it up to God” would also mean not TRYING to get pregnant either which I’m convinced is what the Duggar’s have been doing all along. In an interview, Michelle talked about the ovulation calendar on the fridge. Why would you need something like that if you were really leaving it up to God? Believe me, they are not using that calendar to keep from getting pregnant. Natural family planning would have insured them having probably less than half of the children they have now, so their idea about birth control being wrong simply doesn’t ring true. God gives us a brain to use. The Duggar’s have chosen to NOT use theirs. I said before & I’ll say it again, I have NO sympathy for them in losing this last baby. The pregnancy should have never happened to begin with. If Michelle cared enough about her other children, she would make sure she was healthy & alive to raise them. She risks death each time she gets pregnant. I pray that menopause is upon her – and also that Jim Bob experiences some impotence for a change. This family truly makes me ill. They actually are an embarrassment to Christians everywhere who use the brains God gave them.
drlindagalloway said,
April 6, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Thanks for your comment, Mitsy. I love a spirited discussion!