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Michelle Duggar's 18th Baby: Is Pregnancy Hard on Our Bodies?
December 30, 2008 at 1:39 PM by Cafe Kristen - Comments (23)
Photo courtesy of DuggarFamily.com.
We all know that Michelle Duggar from 17 Kids and Counting had her 18th baby. Pregnancy and labor must feel fairly routine for her by now, but I can't help wondering how her body must feel.
Can you imagine? I've had twins and another baby, and I already feel like I've spent way too much of my life being pregnant. Physically, my stretch marks are here to stay, and the skin in my abdomen is a bit stretched. But my body bounced back, and I feel the same as I did before.
But is pregnancy hard on our bodies after multiple labors?
CafeMom nurses in the private Ask an OB RN group always have good insight on labor, delivery and all things women's health. Group owner, Stephie280, asked three CafeMom nurses exactly what they thought about Michelle Duggar and multiple pregnancies. They worked together to give us the following medical opinion:
What are the risks of getting pregnant so many times?
Medically speaking, with each pregnancy, you have an increased risk for post partum bleeding because your uterus doesn't want to contract down to normal size. It's been stretched for so long and so often, it tries to be stubborn. Another risk is for the bladder to prolapse, meaning it drops downward and can come out of the vaginal canal. To fix it, they have a new procedure that's fairly easy, but a lot of GYNs don't like to do it until you are done having babies.
Should Michelle Duggar have more babies? Is it safe?
We medical professionals don't think it's anyone's business to tell someone to stop having babies at a certain age. Yes, by 42 or 43 years old, it is considered advanced maternal age (AMA), and with that comes some risks. Again, there are risks of bleeding, and the risks of fetal growing, mental retardation or growth issues in utero. Also, the mother is more at risk for gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced hypertension just because her body isn't as young anymore to handle the workload of pregnancy.
Do you think she can have more babies physically?
Her doctor on the show said that she's a very healthy person, and she's not showing signs of a bladder prolapse. Yes, she has had 3 c-sections, but many people have had more than that. It's on a case-to-case basis. She had a healthy pregnancy last time, (from what they reported), and there were no signs that said medically she can't have another. For some women, it would be unsafe after their second baby to get pregnant again, and they are advised not to. Some women like Michelle can keep going and medically not have any problems.
Do you want more babies? I think I am done. My body finally feels normal again, and I'm enjoying not being pregnant. How does your body feel after your pregnancies?
FILED UNDER: fertility, in the news, medical tests, menstruation, obgyn, sex life
Comments:
I'm pregnant with number two now. I had originally said I'd only ever had one...And before I was pregnant with her, I never wanted children.
With my first pregnancy, I didn't have much discomfort at all. Until around 6 months, I actually felt really good. After that heartburn, insomnia, and other common discomforts set in and it wasn't even all that bad.
With this baby, I'm about 4 months and already I get bad bouts of nausea (I was never sick with #1) just by seeing food in a commercial that looks unappetizing to me. I also have a hard time finding comfortable sleep positions. It's a "lot" worse in comparison with my first, but I still don't think it's the worst it could be.
I'm missing being able to eat/do what I want. It was nice after my body went back to normal...I could sleep on my stomach, drink alcohol (had I wanted to.), eat what I wanted and not what my pregnant body would accept. And aside from all that selfish sounding stuff, I was just enjoying feeling like myself. Like a person and not an apartment. Feeling strong and healthy.
Anyways Im just rambling now...My point is this baby may well be my last.
I dont think its anyones business how many kids they choose to have. She homeschools, they arent on state aid, they raise their own kids. Who cares? Her body. Her choice.
Right now I'm pregnant with my second birth child. I also have SS here often. SS has PDD, so it's a bit hard dealing with DS and SS at the same time. Now we're adding another baby to the mix. I'm hoping SS continues to get the help he needs and progresses. If he does, we will be adding more children to our mix as our financial ability can suffice it. I think Michelle Duggar is a wonderful woman to have such loving, respectful, and well behaved children as she does.
I've only barely begun. DH and I have said (and agreed on) "At least 4, no more than 10" I religiously cannot get my tubes tied so really after my 10th, we'll see I suppose.
Actually, she has lost a child. She miscarried a baby after her oldest son was born. She and her husband researched the pill (which she had been on after the birth of her first child), and their research led them to believe that the pill can cause miscarriages. That is when they decided to not use any birth control and to welcome every child God chose to bless them with.
Anyway, I'm with gemgem on this -- they are self-sufficient and are not taking any sort of aid from anyone. How many kids they have isn't really our business.
I don't know how many pregnancies my teeth can take! I had morning sickness for the length of my pregnancy with my son and my enamel is shot and parts of my teeth are transparent. Being sick for that long is draining. Then the postpartum hemmorhage--that made me feel pretty rough too. It's been 5 months since I had my son and I'm just now feeling 100% again.
How WONDERFUL!
God has desined our bodies and if she and her husband want to continue having babies~~~~~~that is great!
Far as I know, they don't accept handouts, aren't asking the government to meet their needs and they look to me like they are a happy and well put together family.
Before people started limiting how many children they would have; they used to have huge families.
I love it when I see BIG and beautiful families.
Our very small and hard working Grandma had 17.
From what I read above it looks like she does not really want any more kids? I thought she said "yes". When did you hear her say this? Did she change her mind recently?
I watched the TLC episode about the birth of Jordyn-Grace. Michelle said several times that she was accepting the possibility that this could be her last baby. She is 42, after all, so her child-bearing years are coming to an end soon. But she also said that she would welcome another child (or two or more) if that happened, too. So, I think she's being realistic in her approach to more children.
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I can't imagine having that many kids even though I LOVE being a mom I think 2-4 is enough for us !!!! We have only one live child and 3 angels and would love to try and have more soon. SHe is blessed to have never have lost a child.
baby1love Dec. 30, 2008 at 2:50 PM