Michelle Duggar Miscarries

[Hyena Dandy]

Yes, but they would keep it up without their show. They didn't have a lot of kids to get the show. They are prideful, but to say she's only having kids to show off minimizes the real problem. That there are a whole bunch of Michelle Duggars out there. Only one of them has the show.

[Panacea]

Odd. I thought the miscarriage rate was higher than that. Maybe some weren't reported?

Rapscallion

She may have had pregnancies she miscarried and never knew about. Many women miscarry and never realize it. Either the embryo fails to implant, or a spontaneous abortion occurs for other reasons in the first six weeks of the pregnancy (exposure to teratogens, or genetic issues). It's really hard to say.

Michelle Duggar is now in a position where her risk of miscarriage is increasing and if she continues to get pregnant she may have another miscarriage or a number of other complications. She should stop now for this and many other reasons already stated in this thread.

I agree she is definately endangering her health. It's a wonder she hasn't had a hysterectomy by now.

With each term pregnancy, the uterus is stretched, like a balloon. However, after the delivery, it has a more and more difficult time with "involution", or returning to its original shape and size. Blow up a latex balloon, and you'll note it doesn't completely go back to it's initial state either.

This is important because when the placenta is delivered in the third stage of labor, it leaves an open wound on the inside of the uterus (complete with exposed and bleeding blood vessels) that bleeds. This is why women bleed after delivering, much like a period (the bleeding is called "lochia").

We all know that direct pressure stops bleeding. That's what involution does for the uterus: the contractions women feel after delivering is the uterus contracting and shrinking . . . and placing direct pressure on that open wound until it heals.

It takes 10 days before the uterus can no longer be felt by palpation after delivering a full term infant. It takes SIX WEEKS for it to return to its normal size and position.

Hence, with every pregnancy after the 5th, the risk of post partum hemorrhage increases. The uterus loses its ability to shrink and becomes "boggy". Massive bleeding results, leading to shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and death if not corrected.

Assuming Michelle Duggar can get another pregnancy close to term, she is likely to kill herself doing so. She's playing Russian Roulette with her body

I don't think that's what God meant by "be fruitful and multiply."

[fireheart17]

Lexia, she doesn't parent. She has the older children take care of the younger ones. Her and Jim Bob live off the charity off their church. It's a wonder that she hasn't had more miscarriages or early births, considering her age.

To be fair, she does restrict her children's TV habits as well as internet use and there's a certain system that they use for dating (courtship I believe). So it's not entirely like "Here's your buddy, make sure you raise em well" type thing. Also, all the kids are homeschooled as a group.

Considering the impression I get from everything I've heard, the woman isn't having kids because she wants or cares about kids, but as a form of vanity to show off how "godly" she is.

Its not a form of vanity. Its a religious movement known as the 'Quiverfull' movement. Very unpleasant, I feel, but not to SHOW OFF that you're godly. Its to make little godly babies so there will be more Christians. I don't like it, I think its stupid. But that's what it is.

Pretty much what HD said, but there's more to it.

I mentioned it earlier, but during her second pregnancy, she had a miscarriage and at the time, believed it to be because she was using contraception. As a result, she decided to just pretty much throw out any forms of birth control and let God dictate how many children she could have.

[dendawg]

Her and Jim Bob live off the charity off their church.

Not quite.

According to the Wikipedia article on Jim Bob Duggar he's a former AR state representative, so he's probably drawing pension from that, plus he has several real estate investments. Not to mention the family car dealership, and income from Discovery networks.

[AdminAssistant]

I know people who live around this family and before the show came along they were heavily supported by the congregation. The children were also very isolated. That may have changed since the show came on. I don't know for sure because I refuse to watch the show. We shouldn't be celebrating people because they've birthed a lot of people as a way to propagate a cult. It's sad that they lost the fetus, but to me, this is the equivalent of standing in the middle of the road and praying that God will prevent you from getting run over.

I sincerely hope the children, especially the girls, are able to find some outside enlightenment and realize that they don't have to be a baby machine for their entire lives.

[Sleepwalker]

That she directs them in their raising speaks no more than someone directing their nanny. Except she is using her own children to nanny their siblings.

She is like a queen bee, being tended by her children as she does nothing but produce more drones. Shitty way to grow up.

[Android Kaeli]

I'm not surprised one bit that this happened, with what went wrong with the last pregancy. Doesn't the youngest already have, or will have later in life, health issues? I mean, the poor child was born early [I think, I'm not sure], spent the first few months of her life in a hospital, was hooked up to oxygen and other machines for a while afterwards, and probably still is not fully recovered from her birth.

And Michelle didn't get out of the pregancy and birth unscatched herself, either.

Seriously, after the first four or five full-term and healthy, live births, I think one would sit back and say enough is enough. But after 19 live births? Yea, I think it's time to stop while counting the blessings -- maybe this will be their wake-up call.

[blas87]

She's a grandma already, and is still trying to have more babies.

That woman needs a trip to the lighthouse, and a hysterectomy.

[Panacea]

I'm not surprised one bit that this happened, with what went wrong with the last pregancy. Doesn't the youngest already have, or will have later in life, health issues? I mean, the poor child was born early [I think, I'm not sure], spent the first few months of her life in a hospital, was hooked up to oxygen and other machines for a while afterwards, and probably still is not fully recovered from her birth.

And Michelle didn't get out of the pregancy and birth unscatched herself, either.

Yeah, the last one was born premature and was in the hospital for awhile. Born around 28 weeks IIRC. The odds of long term health problems are high, but we've gotten better at caring for them, so this kid will probably live to adulthood.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Baby #19, Josie, was born at 28 weeks because her mother had severe preeclampsia, which can be life threatening and the only "cure" for which is the birth of the baby. This is what I had, only earlier, and my baby was born at 24 weeks and died a week later. Preeclampsia, while very common, can cause lifelong health problems for the mother, and (especially the earlier in a pregnancy it occurs and the older the mother, or sometimes if the mother is a teenager) often means any subsequent pregnancy is going to be very high risk. I realize this miscarriage was very early and not likely linked to the preeclampsia, but it's very concerning to me that she might carry another baby closer to term and have something else horrible go wrong. I nearly died; my daughter was born just in time. Sigh...

[Panacea]

Baby #19, Josie, was born at 28 weeks because her mother had severe preeclampsia, which can be life threatening and the only "cure" for which is the birth of the baby. This is what I had, only earlier, and my baby was born at 24 weeks and died a week later. Preeclampsia, while very common, can cause lifelong health problems for the mother, and (especially the earlier in a pregnancy it occurs and the older the mother, or sometimes if the mother is a teenager) often means any subsequent pregnancy is going to be very high risk. I realize this miscarriage was very early and not likely linked to the preeclampsia, but it's very concerning to me that she might carry another baby closer to term and have something else horrible go wrong. I nearly died; my daughter was born just in time. Sigh...

I'm very sorry to hear that 24 weeks is a bit early to have it so bad, but it does happen.

And if she had pre-eclampsia once, she's at risk to have it again.

Oh, and it raises the risks of abnormal hemorrhage, which she already has because she's had so many term babies.

This woman is stupid! She's putting the welfare of the children she already has at risk to have "one more."

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I'm very sorry to hear that 24 weeks is a bit early to have it so bad, but it does happen.

Thank you...it can happen as early as 20 weeks from what I understand.

This woman is stupid! She's putting the welfare of the children she already has at risk to have "one more."

After my near-death experience I started taking better care of myself and I finally went back to the dentist after 14 years...and because of the damage I'd done over that period of time I had to go to a periodontist. She'd just had her third child, who was also born prematurely - though not a lot - due to preeclampsia which apparently was pretty severe. The periodontist told me, sympathetically, that as much as she hated to even think about it, she prayed that if either she or the baby had to die, that it be the baby, because she didn't want her older children to be without their mom. Fortunately the baby survived as well...but I know what she means. My husband worried he'd be asked to make a decision and there was no doubt in his mind which one of us he'd choose, but he wondered if I'd hate him forever for it. I wouldn't have. As horrible as it has been to lose my baby, so many more people would have been affected by my death...and if the baby had lived she'd have been motherless, too.