Michelle Duggar Suffers Miscarriage in Second Trimester
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar just announced devastating news about their pregnancy – they suffered a miscarriage.
Anticipating the birth of their 20th child, the couple, who star in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” had gone to the hospital for a routine prenatal check-up, hoping to see what the gender of their next child would be, People Magazine reported.
But upon examination, their doctor was unable to find a heartbeat for their unborn child and told the two they had miscarried in the second trimester.
“After the appointment, we came back home and told the children,” Michelle Duggar told People. “We had just been talking about baby names last night and they were getting excited about naming a boy or a girl. It has been a real sad disappointment.”
The family planned to select a name for the boy or the girl upon discovery of the gender and arrange the funeral services thereafter.
“I feel like my heart broke telling my children,” she added. “They have all been so excited about this baby and looking forward to April coming around and having a new little one in our arms. That was the most difficult.”
It was just one month ago that the entire Duggar family appeared on The Today Show announcing that 45-year-old Michelle was three and a half months pregnant with her 20th baby.
“I was not thinking that God would give us another one, and we are just so grateful,” she previously shared on The Today Show.
Her last pregnancy with her 19th child, Josie, had been an extremely difficult one; she had suffered from gallbladder problems, preeclampsia, and also delivered three and a half months premature.
But regardless of the various health problems, the mother of 19 revealed that she would do it all over again, and she was shortly given the opportunity to do so this year.
Now as the family mourns the loss of their unborn 20th child, they continue still to trust in God and His plans.
“The Lord is the giver of life and He can choose when that life is ready to go on and be with Him,” Duggar shared with People.
This is the second miscarriage the Duggars have suffered. The first miscarriage with their second child early on in their marriage prompted them to stop all birth control, which they believed to be the culprit for their loss, and leave “up to God” the number of children they would have, resulting in 19 children.