Michelle Duggar and her husband Jim Bob Duggar have announced that they would like to have more children if God saw it fit.
The couple, who star on the TLC reality series 19 Kids and Counting, already have 19 children and 3 grandchildren.
“We would love more children if God saw fit to give us more,” Michelle said in a clip from their newest episode. “I just want to make sure that I am ready to catch a baby if that would happen.”
Michelle and Jim Bob recently visited fertility doctor and high-risk OB-GYN Paul Wendel in Little Rock, Arkansas to find out what their chances of conceiving another child looked like, and to find out if it would be safe for Michelle to get pregnant again at her age.
In 2011, Michelle became pregnant and carried the child until 19 weeks when, unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage. They also struggled with their youngest child Josie’s birth, when she was born nearly four months early, due to Michelle’s severe bout with preeclampsia.
Dr. Wendel said that pregnancies become riskier with age, and with Michelle now 47-years-old, she could be looking at a risky pregnancy if they chose to conceive another child. “We do see occasionally pregnancies in women who are 47, 48, 49, even 50 but they are very unusual,” he said.
Michelle knows that she may not be able to have more children, but says she will welcome another baby with open arms if God decided they should have another. “If I am in that season of life where we’re not able to have any more, then I’m fine, I’m happy with that,” she explained. “But if there are things physically I need to know, that I need to do, health wise just to be ready to catch a baby if God saw fit to give us one.”
19 Kids and Counting is currently airing their 8th season. New episodes air on Tuesday nights on TLC.
Image via Wikimedia Commons