Michelle Duggar Should Stop Having Kids, Doctors Say
Michelle Duggar, star of the TLC reality show “19 Kids & Counting,” has been the subject of an unfortunate diagnosis: doctors say she should stop having kids, or risk the consequences.
To date, the Duggars have had numerous children and two miscarriages.
The first, Caleb, was Duggar’s second pregnancy, while the second miscarriage, the child yet unnamed, was reported recently. Some doctors say that Duggar’s age alone could be a reason she should reconsider having more children.
Dr. Jennifer Landa, the Chief Medical Officer of BodyLogicMD, revealed that the chances of miscarriage only increase with age.
“Risk of miscarriage is huge at her age. To put in perspective, risk of miscarriage generally is about one in seven,” Landa told Fox News. “At 20 years old the risk is one in 10, at 30 it is one in seven, at 40 years one in three and at 45… the rate of miscarriage is a whopping one out of two pregnancies.”
For the Duggar family, who has 19 children, this is bad news.
“I would advise her to consider stop having children… she has a duty to the children she already has,” said Landa.
Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar are fundamentalist Christians, so this could be a problem.
The couple does not believe in any forms of traditional contraception, and after experimenting with it, decided it wasn’t for them. Options are limited for the middle-aged married couple.
One physician spoke to The Christian Post about a potential way the Duggars could solve their big problem.
Jacqueline Ford is an Attending Physician at New York University, with years of obstetrical and gynecological experience, and she suggested one way the Duggars could avoid another potentially hazardous pregnancy.
“It’s called the rhythm method,” Ford told CP.
The couple would have abstain from unprotected intercourse until the infertile days in a woman’s menstrual cycle.
It’s “the only type of natural method (the Duggars) can use… assuming the woman has a normal menstrual cycle,” Ford told CP.
Ford was quick to point out that traditional contraceptives would always be more effective, however.
If the Duggars choose not to adopt the rhythm method, the consequences could be severe.
Genetic abnormalities, diabetes and hypertension are just some of the serious risks the fetus could be subjected to when the mother is pregnant 45.
The risks aren’t limited to the baby, though. The mother could also be in trouble.
“Just in terms of the functionality of the uterus, increased risk of post-partum hemorrhage” could result from another pregnancy for Michelle Duggar, Ford told CP.
That means the mother could lose a lot of blood. Worse, her vaginal canal could stay in its dilated shape for good.
It seems like Duggar should reassess her situation - 19 could be the end of the large Duggar family.
“It is time for her to hang up the baby booties,” Landa said.