Jill Duggar Dillard and her husband, Derick Dillard, recently returned to Guatemala to continue language school, and the missionary couple swore that they were going to stay put for many months this time around. However, one report suggests that Jill could be back in Arkansas in a matter of days — Jessa Duggar Seewald’s due date is November 4, and Jill might return home to help out during her sister’s home birth.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, Jill Duggar Dillard and her husband claimed that they would be so busy with their mission work that they wouldn’t be able to leave Central America until next summer. However, a source close to the Duggar family recently told PEOPLE that Jill will probably head back home much sooner.
“As for who’ll deliver the newest family member [Jessa Duggar Seewald’s baby], the source says the Duggars are ‘really into midwifery,’ and Jessa’s own sister Jill, who recently became a certified midwife, could possibly have the exciting task.”
In a September 19 blog post on the Dillard Family website, Jill Duggar revealed that she passed her final midwifery exam and is now a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM). 19 Kids and Counting fans know that the Duggars love to save a dollar whenever they can, and Jessa would save a lot more than that by asking Jill to be her midwife. Jill also might be eager to help her sister out because it will give her a chance to show off her midwifery skills for the first time since obtaining her certification — because she’s been so busy with her mission trip, she probably hasn’t had a chance to deliver her first baby as a CPM. And how special would it be for Jill if the first baby she helped deliver was her niece or nephew?
However, Jill and Derick have faced a lot of criticism for jetting back and forth between the States and Central America during their long-term mission trip, and there would definitely be another backlash if they flew back home so soon after swearing that they were going to be gone until next year.
“It will be next summer before we plan to make a short visit back to the States again,” Jill and Derick wrote in a goodbye message that was posted on the Duggar Family Official Facebook page.
Jill Duggar and her husband are using donors’ money to fund their mission trip, and some critics of the couple have suggested that some of this money is paying for their trips back home for events like weddings (or the birth of a relative’s baby). Jill and Derick have shared numerous mission trip updates on their family website, but they’ve never responded to questions about whether donations are being used on their airfare.
If Jill Duggar does fly back home for the birth of Jessa’s first child, she and Derick might have a hard time keeping their trip back home a secret for long. Jill and Jessa are starring in a series of three TLC specials titled Jill & Jessa: Counting On that will focus on the birth of Jessa’s first child and Jill’s mission trip. If Jill acts as Jessa’s midwife, the TLC cameras will probably be there to film her assisting her sister.
However, it’s possible that the PEOPLE source is simply wrong about Jill Duggar returning home to act as Jessa’s midwife. In the ABOUT section of the Dillard Family website, Jill reveals that she doesn’t plan on using her midwifery skills anytime soon — right now she wants to focus on caring for her own child.
“My prayer in pursuing midwifery early on was to make wise use of my single years while gaining valuable skills that I may someday use on the mission field,” Jill reveals. “Although I don’t plan on practicing while I have little ones of my own at home, I know the skills I have already learned have benefitted me immensely and I may be able to use them in other ways, such as teaching, down the road.”
Jill & Jessa: Counting On viewers might not get to see Jill working as a midwife, but they will get a glimpse of what her life is like in Central America. The Duggar Family News: Life Is Not All Pickles And Hairspray Facebook page recently shared two photos that show a TLC camera crew following Jill and Derick in Antigua, Guatemala. In the photos, Jill appears to be shopping for shoes and jean skirts .
Do you think Jill Duggar will renege on her promise to stay in Central America until next summer by returning home for the birth of Jessa Duggar’s baby?
[Image via TLC]