What happened to “Eight is Enough?”. Just a question. Not related at all to 18 make that 19, hold it, make that 20 Kids and Counting for Michelle Duggar. Well, maybe it’s a related a smidge. Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar have announced that they will have their 20th child. I believe that these types of questions arise because we all question ourselves when we hear this type of news. Could we birth not to mention raise 20 kids? The chances for me are about as good as money growing from trees in my backyard. Truth be told though, I admire Michelle Duggar. I believe that she has a heart of gold and probably a uterus to match.
I applaud that her belief system is not just words that sound good but a life that she lives by. I applaud her sincerity, the recognition that children are an inheritance from God and the example that she sets. And yes, she does set and amazing example. The formula, diapers, and clothes for my one child is setting a sister back. However, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar have managed to have 4 starting lineups with the new one on the way for a total of 20 kids and are debt free thanks to their mantra to ‘buy used and save the difference’.
For some reason in recent times we have gotten very judgmental towards women who have a large number of children. I think that most of us have gotten caught up in the ‘women’s lib’ movement. But have misplaced what the heart of the matter really was: allowing women to have opportunities and to make choices. So when her choice is to have a large family what’s at issue? This woman does more work in a day than most of us can likely imagine. I think most of us have forgotten that we are really just one generation away from large families. My own mother is the youngest of 13.
I will say that I do have concern and reservations about this upcoming child for the Duggars. My concerns are for the health of mother and baby. Michelle has twice suffered from Preeclampsia I condition I also had. The life threatening condition caused Michelle to deliver extremely early with her last pregnancy and it left her daughter Josie in grave condition for many months. The risks to mothers who are over the age of 35 rises substantially and factor in a history with Preeclampsia and at her age of 45 this pregnancy for Michelle would definitely be considered high risk.
Michelle Duggar has stated that it’s unrealistic to think that a woman would not have a child after having some issues or in the face of risks. With more and more women have children at a later age and stage in life this is a reality for many women around the world. We have applauded women such as Halle Berry, Mariah Carey, Courtney Cox, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore when they had children in their 40s and had what are considered high risk pregnancies. Michelle Duggar doesn’t generally get the same response from the media. Michelle Duggar doesn’t believe that “Eight is Enough” and clearly didn’t believe that 19 was enough. She and husband Jim Bob believe that “there’s always room for one more.”
