# And baby makes 21...Duggars have 19th baby **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891 "2009-12-11T18:43:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/81 "2009-12-14T21:08:25Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Does anyone know how much money families like the Duggars and Jon & Kate get for these shows? I’m very curious about that. . . I believe Jon and Kate got about $75K per episode. Enough for that $1.1 million house. > [@billfish678](#): > > And, this cost the insurance company much money, way more than typical. And, if their latest child (or any of the previous ones did) requires massive medical care paid by the either the insurance or government aid. Which really means the REST of us are paying for their choices. And insurance at my work pays for fertility treatments – which may results in one or two kids and what, $15K a pop? I thought uncomplicated hospitals births are maybe $3K each? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/82 "2009-12-15T00:17:32Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Ahh…the old since we don’t know EXACTLY where to draw the line we can’t draw any even fuzzy lines routine. Not remotely. But if you’re proposing drawing lines through fundamental human rights like reproduction, then those lines had better be tightly defined and motivated by something a hell of a lot more substantial than some infinitesimal fraction of your tax or insurance premium dollars. Otherwise you just look like a hypocrite for not going after the other people whose choices cost you money, or a miserly curmudgeon for thinking fractions of pennies should give you power over others. > [@billfish678](#): > > And no, I did not enjoy your post. In fact, it wasnt even thought provoking. Provoking thought in one such as yourself is undoubtedly beyond my meager abilities. I shudder to think of what I would have to do to bring you amusement. Luckily, I’m more easily amused. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/83 "2009-12-15T06:05:42Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I was just chatting the other day with my boss’s boss about his background and he noted that in one branch of his family, one matriarch a couple of generations back had **24** children. He said the one picture he’s seen of her, she looked mighty haggard and grim :p. But she had apparently produced an unusually large number of twins, so the total event count wasn’t quite so staggering. Wow. Did all of them survive, though? Back then, I would imagine, the infant mortality rate was much higher, so people tended to have more children. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/84 "2009-12-17T12:06:05Z")
This is crazy. I don’t see how all this is God’s will, when you have to get surgery and your baby needs a NICU after the fact. If she was doing this in another era she would have been dead after this one if not sooner. I’ve also heard she has to have her cervix sewn shut… All this medical intervention seems like it would be a good time to STOP. Seriously, the quiver is full. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/85 "2009-12-17T16:41:42Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > This is crazy. I don’t see how all this is God’s will, when you have to get surgery and your baby needs a NICU after the fact. If she was doing this in another era she would have been dead after this one if not sooner. I’ve also heard she has to have her cervix sewn shut… What? Medical dopers, does this ever happen, as a matter of course? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/86 "2009-12-17T17:03:54Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > …I’ve never felt like they proselytize – they say why they do what they do, what beliefs inform their actions, and that they don’t judge what other people do… Let’s keep in mind that what we see on TV should be taken with a grain of salt. Like all “reality” shows the Duggar specials and TV series are heavily edited. We see only a very tiny fracture of the raw footage that’s been greatly manipulated. Of course TLC will make sure to edit things so as to pain the Duggars in a positive light. Otherwise they’d stop making the shows (or go to another network). ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/87 "2009-12-17T17:27:00Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > This is crazy. I don’t see how all this is God’s will, when you have to get surgery and your baby needs a NICU after the fact. If she was doing this in another era she would have been dead after this one if not sooner. I’ve also heard she has to have her cervix sewn shut… All this medical intervention seems like it would be a good time to STOP. > > Seriously, the quiver is full. Oh yeah? Well, _I_ heard that all those kids she has are really the product of various alien abductions over the years, THAT’S why she can have so many so relatively painlessly. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/88 "2009-12-17T17:27:58Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What? Medical dopers, does this ever happen, as a matter of course? If you’re referring to the “cervix sewn shut” part, yes that can happen. If a women has [cervical incompetence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cervical_incompetence), they may perform [cervical cerclage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cervical_cerclage). They place a suture through the cervix early in the pregnancy to decrease the risk of miscarriage, and then remove the suture towards the end of the pregnancy after the greatest risk of miscarriage has passed. ETA: I haven’t heard myself if Mrs. Duggar has ever really had this done, but it’s not implausible given her history of miscarriage. I don’t know if she has any other risk factors for cervical incompetence, ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/89 "2009-12-17T17:34:17Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What? Medical dopers, does this ever happen, as a matter of course? This happens frequently for people who have miscarriages due to the cervix not staying closed. [http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/cervicalcerclage.html](http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/cervicalcerclage.html) It can also be needed if you have many children. My great aunt (who had 21 children in 19 births) needed this for the last few. Believe me when I say that these 19 have it much better than those 21. Rats! Simulpost. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/90 "2009-12-17T17:40:50Z")
Yikes. The human body is a scary thing sometimes. I hope my cervix doesn’t prove incompetent when the time comes. Really. Incompetent. So harsh! ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/91 "2009-12-17T19:48:19Z")
Somebody give that woman a cork for Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/92 "2009-12-17T20:41:30Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Somebody give that woman a cork for Christmas. Yeah. A really, really large cork! 😛 Or maybe just a dab of Super Glue between her knees. . . ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/93 "2009-12-21T04:31:39Z")
> [@LadyJane84](#): > > A later report said that she was delivered for Pre-Eclampsia. [http://www.examiner.com/x-24089-Atlanta-Reality--Talk-Show-TV-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Duggar-family-New-challenges-with-baby-19-born-three-months-early](http://www.examiner.com/x-24089-Atlanta-Reality--Talk-Show-TV-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Duggar-family-New-challenges-with-baby-19-born-three-months-early) Then I hope like HELL they get away from this mindset that “we must reproduce and outnumber the heathens” else those older sisters will be raising their younger siblings without even a mother to consult with - as she’ll either be quite dead or caught up with raising 4 more micropreemies. I would hope that The Lord’s plan for them doesn’t include breeding her until she’s dead. Time for Jim-Bob to learn to whack off. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/94 "2009-12-21T05:32:27Z")
Pre-eclampsia? Isn’t that usually fatal? (All I remember is an episode of _ER_ where a woman died from it) Yeesh, my family is Catholic, and I think the biggest was my maternal grandfather’s – eleven. But the eldest, my great-aunt Mary was born in 1915. Does anyone REALLY think that every single one of those kids is going to follow in Mom’s and Dad’s footsteps? And out of 19, one of them has to be gay. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/95 "2009-12-21T13:18:59Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Pre-eclampsia? Isn’t that usually fatal? (All I remember is an episode of _ER_ where a woman died from it) _Untreated_ pre-eclampsia is often fatal - these days, if you get to the doc in time, you usually survive. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/96 "2009-12-21T18:37:01Z")
Technically, it’s _eclampsia_ that is usually fatal. Pre-eclampsia is the constellation of symptoms leading up to eclampsia. AFAIK, delivery is the only cure for either condition. Neither sounds fun, though. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/97 "2009-12-21T19:00:36Z")
I hope at least a couple of their kids grows up to be atheist ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891/98 "2009-12-22T09:57:56Z")
It all depends … but if each of tham has 10 or 11 children that’s 200+ people from just that family … and the math only gets scarier if they have more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-baby-makes-21-duggars-have-19th-baby/520891.md?page=4)