Duggar Drop 2010!
Posted by realityrounds on September 1, 2009
Yeehaw! Another Duggar will be in the House known as planet earth, in 2010. That’s right folks, Michelle Duggar announced she is pregnant with lucky baby 19. Oh my! Per usual, she announced the blessed event on the Today Show, with the rest of her 18 kids and one husband perched dangerously on some stairs that were threatening to collapse. The Duggar’s have their first grandchild due in one month, so baby number 19 will be younger than his or her aunt or uncle. Sigh. I am not here to judge, that’s what my commentors are for. At least they can afford their children, and all seem very happy and healthy.
Michelle Duggar is 42 years old, and is what we call in OB land, an advanced maternal aged grand multip. This means she is old (ha) and has been pregnant more than five times. I guess we should start thinking of a term for being pregnant more than 10 times, like a mega multip. Being over the age of 35 has it’s risks mostly due to increasing chances of aneuploidy or chromosomal anomalies in the infant. Michele’s doctor stated she is in great health and was “born to have babies.” Still, she is at a greater risk for complications because of her advanced age (ha) and for her grand multiparity. These risks could include abnormal fetal presentation, precipitous delivery, uterine atony, uterine rupture, increased risk of amniotic fluid embolism and obstetric hemorrhage.
(Good times) To play the devil’s advocate, I know there are studies out there that state there is no increase in risk for a grand multip who is not in a lower socioeconomic status (I would link to them, but I am too lazy, sorry). This would be the case for Michelle Duggar, so more power to her? Again, having 19 kids is her (and I am assuming) her husband’s choice, and they can afford them and they are raising them in a loving way. So there.
But, there is a dark, cynical part of me (shocking, I know), that says enough already! Close the shop lady. There are enough people in the world polluting our planet and eating up all our natural resources. I also think of all the kids who are abandoned who would love the chance to live with the Duggars, so why not be foster parent’s or adopt? Yes I know that sounds very naive and cliche, but whatever.
I will be following Duggar Drop 2010! ™ because I am a loser curiosity seeker and the story fascinates me. Who else will be following?
RR
Kathy said
I’ve heard the term “extreme grand multipara” — but it doesn’t have one single definition — it depends on the country you’re in. Or perhaps just the speaker’s idea. Some put “grand multip” for as few as 4 births or as many as 6, possibly even 7; while others put “grand multip” starting at 5 and going to about 8 or so; and “extreme” would then be anything over that.
You forgot in the midst of all your other cynicism
that she’s had 3 C-sections (once for twins and twice for transverse lie, I think), and this baby is due only about 14 months after the birth of her last child, both of which puts her at a slightly increased risk of uterine rupture. I’m not sure how the extreme grand multiparity plays into it. But this is actually “only” her 16th pregnancy, because she has two sets of twins.
Jill said
Nah, I won’t be following. And not because I think there’s anything wrong about a really, really big family… I guess I just don’t care. I wish I could help you with the judging comments you crave!
You know how everyone has different levels of need for personal space? I’m somewhere in between loving kids crawling on me and needing to be alone regularly. I find the concept of never or rarely being alone mind-boggling.
realityrounds said
I have never watched the Duggar reality show. I never felt the need to peek into other people’s lives raising their kids, when I am doing it myself. I definitely need my own personal space.
Ciarin said
I won’t be following this either. I think it’s absolutely insane to have this many children…but this comes from a woman who wanted three, had three, and would occassionally like to give them all back! LOL – just kidding….sorta….no really!
I’m just not into the drama. While I agree that maybe she ought to close up shop (before something bad happens, using more resources, should look into adoption or fostering children) at least they are not on welfare. Now that would stir up some judgemental comments on my part.
realityrounds said
Oh I thought about bringing up the welfare issue, like Octomom, but stopped myself. 19 kid…..yikes.
Rebecca said
What I find interesting about the Duggars is that they are not the only ones…there is a small but significant movement called Quiverfull, of fundamentalist Christians having huge families. (I say small but significant because there may not be many, but they all have many many children!) I am curious to see if their children perpetuate this or not.
I am always astounded by Michelle Duggar’s ability to be calm and happy at all times, but then I realize that she basically has three or four cooks/housekeepers in her older daughters. And she assigns each of her older kids a younger one to supervise. So in some ways it’s probably easier for her than it is for someone with three.
olivia said
I find Michelle’s calm demeanor almost creepy. It’s as if after SO MANY years of not having adequate sleep because there is always an infant in the house, she walks around in a semi-zombie like state.
Margaret said
Won’t be following because I don’t have cable, however I say more power to them. They seem like a happy family that is providing for their children. They are making decisions in a different plane from others who do not share their faith or beliefs, so its not really helpful to say what they should or shouldn’t do based on your own opinions and personal decision making system. Based on their beliefs there is no “close up shop” for them, so instead they accept children with serenity and gratefulness and just make do. I don’t agree with the Quiverfull movement, but as a practicing, believing Catholic I can identify with the desire to accept children with open arms.
Oh and she is lucky to have such a supportive OB, that is awesome!
We are hoping to have a large family, though certainly not 19 (maybe five or six). Even that many, I am sure we will be judged. So I guess I feel a little compelled to defend their very large family. Ah well everyone has always got an opinion
R. May said
Oooo I’ll say it. I have a problem with the Duggars. My problem is … the parents aren’t parenting. The older children are. Absolutely children should help out around the house. Children should not be mini housewifes/househusbands.
selzach said
I respect that the Duggars are wealthy enough to care for all their kids. At least they’re financially responsible. But I agree with R. May on the parenting aspect. The older kids are the ones taking care of the younger kids which is unfair to all of them. The older kids are forced to act as parents while they themselves are still children. I wonder how much attention any of the kids get from Mom & Dad.
olivia said
I also agree with R. Mary and Selzach. I also disagree with indoctrinating their children to follow the same path. You think their children, the girls especially, will feel free to a different kind of life than their mother? I highly doubt it.
I tune in to their show occasionaly because I’m curious as to how young the girls will be when they wed (Michelle was 17) and the circumstances surrounding their marriages.
Margaret said
LOL the above comments just demonstrate a completely different cultural mindset for parenting. Older children helping with watching children and cleaning and such have been around for AGES. It was really quite the norm until recently, especially since larger families were much more common. It is really in more recent years where older children are treated more as a leisure generation with few responsibilities except school and MAYBE a part time job. That is not necessarily a bad thing, its just a completely different way of raising children.
And most parents tend to teach their children their beliefs. Just because you disagree with their beliefs doesn’t make it any more “indoctrinating” than the way you raise your own children.
Just some things to think about…
R. May said
Yes and girls were expected to marry right out of high school and not go to higher education or if they did go to college or work then that was just til they got married. Just because it was doesn’t mean it’s normal or healthy. And if you watch – the girls are doing 99% of the work. Nothing like raising your daughters that their job is in the home.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing dishonorable about being a stay at home parent. My point is, teenage girls should not be.
Pattie, RN said
Good lord, folks, what is wrong with kids helping around the house and with younger sibs??? It is called a “family” for a reason. I think OctoMom and Kate Gosselin are fruitcakes, but since the Duggars are self-supporting their kids through a happy marriage, what is the big problem.
ITA with Margaret..the idea of adolescence as a leisure class is a very new and perhaps unhealthy concept. Let me add my perspective from my family of origin—I was the youngest of four, but my sibs were tweens and teens when I showed up. Apparently my oldest sister, at age 16, took me everywhere and took all the picutres of me as an infant and toddler with her little Brownie camera. She didn’t HAVE to, she loved being a litle mother per HER report! I was a planned child, and also had both parents doting on me, as well as a live-in grandmother.I was a happy kid who was any “only” child by age ten.
Fast forward to high school. Mother and Grandmother were both unwell, and Dad was working very long hours. Out of love and respect and thanks for all my blessings (I was going to a private school and still had my beloved horses) I cooked dinner most nights and cleaned the house top to bottom every Friday for over four hours. Was I being “used” or “held back”? No, I was being part of a family and doing my part. I also baby sat my young nephews regularly. I was proud of my contribution, and my family was proud when I go admited to college with a free tuition at age sixteen. I went on to be an Army Officer in the early days of the integrated Army.
So maybe the Duggar critics are looking at normal family cooperation as some sort of indentured servitude. I call it Chrisitan service in love to a family. Maybe R May needs to go re-read the “Littlw House on the Praire” series….
realityrounds said
I am not sure adolescence is thought of as a leisure class in modern society, but more as a chance for further education. Historically young girls of large families were brought up to help raise the younger siblings and marry young themselves. Thus sacrificing their own education and exposure to the world. Make no mistake, they had no choice in this. I do not follow the Duggar family, so I honestly do not know if the older siblings were offered choices in their lives regarding education and work experiences. I would hope they were not forced to care for the younger siblings who they had no say in creating. As far as I am concerned, if the two adult parents choose to have multiple children, they should be the one’s caring for and raising them. Period. *and I grew up the youngest of 8. Don’t get me started*
RehabRN said
Interesting, but I could never do it. I was one of five and I don’t know how my mother and father did it, with everything we had going on.
I can’t imagine the craziness with multiple other kids.
lacaridad said
I survived an amniotic fluid embolism at 28 after having my second baby. I see these women putting their health at risk and I wonder, “Don’t they feel a responsibility to the children they already have?” What if something does happen to her on the labor/delivery floor? All those children could be mother-less. Then what? Does she think of that? I am blessed beyond belief and I truly am a living miracle. I am happy with my two. She needs to stop.