On Thursday, December 8, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, the couple from the TLC program “19 kids and Counting,” announced that Michelle had suffered a miscarriage during the fourth month of her pregnancy; this child would have been the couples’ twentieth. According to the Duggars, when they went to the doctor for a routine check-up and to find out the sex of the baby, the doctor was unable to find a heartbeat and they learned that they had miscarried. While for the family this was tragic, scientifically speaking, this was not a huge surprise because the chance of miscarrying after the age of 45 is 1 out of every 2 pregnancies and Michelle is 45.
Now that her pregnancy has been lost, the question is, is the couple going to take the precautions to stop having kids? Many believe it has become too much of a risk for mom and for the baby.
With 19 biological kids already, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar of Arkansas believe that if God wants them to bear a child, he will give it to them. On November 8, the Duggars had announced on NBC that they were three and a half months pregnant with child number 20. Many people had strong feelings about it saying that the couple should have stopped after the premature birth of their last child. Despite all of the concern and the previous high-risk pregnancy, they decided to continue having children. Jim Bob stated on MSNBC that they did not want to stop on an odd number. However, this latest tragedy may be a sign it is time to call 19 enough.
After learning that the sex of the lost baby was a girl, they named her Jubilee Shalom Duggar and they are having a funeral service for her. The family is going through a grieving period right now and Michelle is resting at home, but she has told CBS news that her kids are taking care of her.