Duggar Family to Hold Memorial Service for Miscarried Baby Jubilee Shalom
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, reality show personalities and parents of 19 children, will be holding a memorial service for their miscarried child, Jubilee Shalom Duggar, on Wednesday Dec. 14.
The parents learned they had lost their 20th child during a routine 19-week ultrasound on Dec. 8, when the doctor could not find the child’s heartbeat.
Michelle then proceeded to rest at home and let the miscarriage occur naturally late Sunday night, as the doctor advised.
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The conservative Christian family are stars of TLC’s reality show series “19 Kids and Counting,” which documents their hectic lifestyle, focusing especially on Michelle’s last five pregnancies.
Media reports indicate Michelle will return home late Monday after visiting the hospital as a precaution.
“The Lord is the giver of life and he can choose when that life is ready to go on and be with him,” Duggar told People magazine after announcing the miscarriage.
Father Jim Bob Duggar published an announcement on the family's website, expressing his grief at the loss of their 20th child but also affirming faith in God’s plan.
“We would like to thank everyone for their prayers, emails and outpouring of love... As our whole family is grieving, we also know that God promises to work all things for good in our lives,” Duggar said in a note posted on the family's website.
This is not the first time the Duggars have experienced pregnancy complications. On their family website, they write that they previously suffered a miscarriage early in their marriage, when Michelle was taking birth control.
They attribute this as one of the many reasons why they chose to stop using contraception and let God take control.
Their youngest daughter, Josie, was born after only 25 weeks at one pound, six ounces in December 2009. Michelle Duggar was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, which arises due to hypertension in the pregnancy, and includes excessive protein in the mother’s urine.
Although the Duggar couple has experienced trials and tribulations with their many pregnancies, they continue to maintain a strong faith in God’s sovereignty.
“I know that God is the one who gives life, and I’m just so grateful and thankful. We would welcome another if He saw fit, but we’ll wait and see,” Michelle Duggar said last summer, when she spoke on NBC's "Today" show of the struggles she encountered with her 19th pregnancy.
