Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar Answer 'Why So Many Children' in New Interview
Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar are known for their large family, and when asked exactly what led them to make the decision to have so many children, were not hesitant to answer. The parents of 19 children explained that they agreed to let God decide how many children they would welcome.
"When we first got married, we thought we would have maybe two or three children," the couple said as part of their response. "Michelle started off our marriage taking the birth control pill so that we could plan when we wanted children. After three years, Michelle went off the pill and we had our son Josh. We didn't think we were ready for more children yet, so Michelle went back on birth control pills."
Not long after, the couple discovered they were expecting, even though Michelle was still on birth control.
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"Between her second and third month, Michelle miscarried. When the doctor told us the miscarriage probably happened because Michelle had conceived while still on the pill, we were devastated," the couple said. "We agreed we would stop using any form of birth control and let God decide how many children we would have."
Since then, they have welcomed 18 more children into the world. In 2011, daughter Jubilee Shalom was pronounced stillborn and the family held a funeral to honor her. Since then, Michelle and Jim Bob have both said they would welcome the opportunity to have another child.
Son Josh and his wife Anna were married in 2008 and took vows that they, too, would welcome any children God blessed them with. In 2009 they welcomed daughter Mackynzie Renee, and in 2011, son Michael James. The newest Duggar, Marcus Anthony, was born in 2013.
Daughter Jill is engaged to Derick Dillard and will be married on June 21. It remains to be seen whether the couple will exchange vows similar to those of Josh and Anna.
