Pregnant Jill Duggar and husband Derick Dillard recently announced that they are returning to Central America for missionary work.
For a whole host of reasons, fans are worried about this.
While Jill Duggar’s return to Central America is part of her ongoing mission to serve God and the less fortunate, plenty of critics are wondering:
Is she putting her unborn child’s life in danger for it?!
Derick and Jill are already the parents of one child, Israel, who turns two in April, and his baby brother is scheduled to arrive this summer.
The Duggars’ propensity for procreating hard was a topic of concern for many fans throughout her time in Zika virus-stricken El Salvador.
Jill wasn’t even pregnant then, but the mere fact that she could be – the Duggars obviously don’t use birth control – made this an issue.
Now she is pregnant, though, and headed back.
The duo returned from El Salvador in August after a year, and earlier this year, we learned Jill and Derick are having a second son.
That made her decision a bit puzzling to many.
“We are planning to go back very soon,” Jill Duggar, who is due in July, said, adding that “we will come back for the birth of the baby.”
Quickly, many fans bashed the reality stars for putting their little boy and their future son in danger, however noble the couple’s intentions.
One follower asked: “What is wrong with Jill?”
“She nearly died in childbirth last time,” noted another. “I know that we are to trust the Lord but He gave us a brain with common sense.”
Valid points and questions, both.
Another fan asked: “What about the Zika virus? Why would they bother returning for just a couple of months, especially with Jill pregnant?”
The risk of Zika, lack of adequate prenatal care (especially with a high-risk VBAC delivery), and even flying in her third trimester are concerns.
“Why don’t they just wait another 6 months for the baby to be born and Jill to have time to recover after the delivery?” said yet another fan.
“Jill and Derick think about your children’s safety first!”
“And Derick is sick without a diagnosis… I feel he should get that under control before he returns to a country without good health care.”
Derick Dillard’s health problems are widely documented at this point, and could further complicate the situation if he’s not in top condition.
Last year, El Salvador advised women there not get pregnant until 2018 due to the mosquito-borne virus linked to brain damage in babies.
Health aside, their safety issues don’t end there.
“Every week, it seems like there would be different instances,” Jill recalled of the sometimes dangerous conditions they would encounter.
Derick lamented the kidnapping, rape and murder in El Salvador that are just part of life there, which is sad on so many different levels.
Her sister Jessa Duggar added that the violence is no joke: “I know whenever we’ve been down there, we hear gunshots all the time.”
“It’s really intense down there, and I can’t imagine being home with a little one and hoping that your husband makes it back every night.”
What do you think? Are they making a mistake?
Sound off in the comments below and tell us what you think of Jill and Derick’s decision to return to Central America given their situation.