Jill Duggar Dillard’s Husband Derick Defends Her Midwife Qualifications: ‘I Drove Her To Take The Test!’
Jill Duggar Dillard’s husband, Derick, has become social media famous for responding to viewers with snippets denying rumors, news snippets, and Duggar traditions. In his latest response, Derick addresses a story that’s more than two years old: Jill’s qualifications as a midwife. The Inquisitr published back in 2015 a doctor’s characterization of Jill’s as a “counterfeit midwife.” However, Derick tweeted this week, denying that Jill is a ‘fake’ midwife.
How can Derick Dillard and a medical doctor present such completely different claims about Jill’s qualifications?
Well, the fact is, Jill Dillard says she’s certified as a CPM — not licensed as a CNM. A CPM, or Certified Professional Midwife, is not the same as a CNM, or Certified Nurse Midwife, and not all states allow CPMs to supervise births at all. In short, a CPM apprentices with a midwife and completes a portfolio program, while a CNM must complete a graduate degree program, and is considered a highly trained health professional.
When evaluating one’s education in any subject, one factor examined is the educator. Jill Dillard, according to the Duggar Family Blog, did her midwifery training with Venessa Giron, whose practice operated under the name A Mommy’s Butterfly. The practice now advertises as offering midwifery in the states neighboring Arkansas, but not in the Duggar family’s own home state. According to The Hollywood Gossip, this is because Giron lost her license to practice in Arkansas, after a client sued, saying that Giron and Jill Dillard had refused to transfer her to a hospital and failed to give needed medications during labor.
Derick’s tweet doesn’t deny any of this, merely asserts that Jill’s certification is real and that he drove her to take her final test.
Jill is a midwife; I drove her to take her final test, which certified her. So, even if you choose to believe lies, at least believe me when I say she is a Certified Professional Midwife.
— Derick Dillard (@derickmdillard) February 15, 2018
However, there’s something else Dillard didn’t address — renewal of credentials. According to the Arkansas Department of Health, a CPM (also called a lay midwife in Arkansas) must renew certification every two years. Jill Dillard initially celebrated her achievement in September 2015. She’s spent a good portion of the intervening time outside of the country. The Dillard family announced a permanent return to the U.S. in August 2017, only a month before Jill would have needed to renew her certification, and their September blog post describes being busy but doesn’t mention Jill’s employment.
So, has Jill Dillard renewed her certification? Derick isn’t saying — but the Arkansas Department of Health publishes a complete list of CNMs practicing in the state, and as of November 2017, Jill wasn’t on it.
What does all this add up to? In short, Jill Duggar Dillard did receive certification for performing midwifery, but it’s a certification many professionals consider inadequate, after training by a person who later lost her license, over a birth Jill also attended, and it’s not clear that she still holds that certification.
