On July 8, Jill Duggar welcomed her second child, a boy named Samuel Dillard, and as usual, her family issued a statement assuring fans that everything went relatively smoothly, and mother and son are resting comfortably.
Typically, Duggar obsessives simply accept the family at its word and offer their congratulations and well wishes.
This time, however, many believe there are signs that either Jill might be suffering some sort of health complication.
For starters, the Duggars have been uncharacterisitically quiet in the weeks since Jill gave birth.
That may not sound like a big deal, but this is a family that posts to social media on a daily basis, and these days, they’re promoting a reality show that continues to struggle mightily in the ratings.
Births and weddings are the Duggars bread and butter, and they’ve never been a family to shy away from the spotlight – quite the contrary, in fact.
For example, when Jessa Duggar gave birth to Samuel back in February, the mother and son sat for a photoshoot with People almost immediately.
While we’ve seen photos of Samuel Dillard, they’ve been few and far-between … and it wasn’t until today (more than two weeks after the birth) that a photo of the infant appeared on Jill’s Instagram page.
Instead, the mother of two has been posting lots of Bible quotes and inspirational messages like the one above.
“Such a great reminder from the Bible #Psalms5023 It’s easy to praise God when things are going great, but do we continue to count our blessings when things aren’t going like we planned?” Jill wrote.
A nice enough setiment on its own, but in this context, it takes on something of an ominous tone.
Adding to fan’s concerns are reports that Jill endured more than 40 hours of labor befor undergoing a C-section.
It was said to be her second difficult pregnancy, with the first requiring nearly 70 hours of labor.
The most common theories among fans seem to be that Jill is either suffering from post-partum depression, or that she was forced to undergo a hysterectomy due to uterine rupture.
If that’s the case, she wouldn’t be able to have any more children naturally, which would no doubt be devastating news for the young mother.
We wish Jill, Derick. and their children all the best.
Watch Counting On online for more from the Duggar clan’s eternal optimist, Jill.