Earlier this week, Joy-Anna (Duggar) Forsyth gave her fans the happy news they have been hoping for: She was pregnant again, following a miscarriage last year that devastated her and her family.
Joy-Anna and her husband, Austin, were thrilled! The two are parents to Gideon, and they named their second child, who was lost at 20 weeks into Joy-Anna's pregnancy, Annabell. Expecting their third baby, also a girl, is a truly beautiful thing for the couple. However, it turns out that the first few weeks of her pregnancy were pretty tense.
"Soon after we found out we were pregnant, I started spotting quite a bit. So I called the doctor, went in and got blood work done," Joy-Anna explained. "He basically said some of my numbers were looking a little bit off. My HCG levels were really high, and he said there were just some concerns. He said that there is a chance this may be a molar pregnancy."
A molar pregnancy happens when a nonviable fertilized egg implants itself in the uterus. The condition can also have pretty dire outcomes, including choriocarcinoma.
Understandably, Joy-Anna and Austin were pretty worried. She said that the possibility of a molar pregnancy was also really confusing because they weren't totally sure what it meant. "At that time, I really didn’t know what that was. Basically, you’re pregnant but it’s not a viable pregnancy. It’s not gonna last past 10 or 12 weeks."
She also wrestled with dual emotions: "wanting to be so excited" about being pregnant again, and being scared that something could happen to this pregnancy, too.
Luckily, her doctor had great news at the next appointment. Joy-Anna shared, "They said so far everything looks great and the baby looks healthy."
She also added, "We’re having a girl, and I cannot believe it. I just started crying. I don’t even know what to say. … Super, excited nervous and thankful all at the same time, but God is good." Austin is in the same video and chimes in with, "Such a relief. … Like, a huge load lifted off our shoulders."
However, some fans of the couple are concerned about Joy-Anna's current pregnancy. When she was pregnant with Gideon, she planned to have a home birth. Unfortunately, complications arose and she ended up at the hospital, but not until after laboring at home for hours. She had to have an emergency cesarean section, and some fans feel that it could have been avoided.
Now that she's pregnant for the third time, fans are coming out in droves with their opinions. One wrote, "I just hope she gets high-quality prenatal care and goes to a hospital for this birth since she had complications with Gideon’s birth and this one is apparently high-risk," and another added, "I hope to [expletive] and back she does the right thing and seeks a REAL medical professional."
Fans are hopefully encouraged by the fact that Joy-Anna says in her pregnancy announcement video that she is seeing a doctor. Her decision was probably impacted by both Gideon's challenging birth and the experience of miscarrying Annabell last July, when she was already 20 weeks into her pregnancy.
When she and Austin updated fans about the miscarriage, she said, "Today marks one week since we heard these words. 'So this is your baby’s heart (pointing to the ultrasound screen). I don’t hear a heartbeat or see any movement.’ We had gone in for our 20-week ultrasound and gender reveal. It was a baby girl."
In their time of pain, the two turned to their faith to help them: "Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time. Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord. In the words of King David after the loss of his baby, ‘I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me’ (2 Sam 12:23). We don’t grieve as those who have no hope because we trust that we will see this little one again."
Joy-Anna and Austin have not yet revealed what they might name their third child. Fan speculation about Duggar family baby names is practically an Olympic sport, however, and you can bet that there will be people making guesses online all the way up to this baby's birth.
