Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth Reveal Tragic Miscarriage Halfway Through Pregnancy: ‘It Was a Girl’

Our hearts are breaking for Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth, who revealed on July 3 that they had suffered a miscarriage of their second child, more than halfway through the pregnancy. The Counting On couple took to Instagram to share the devastating news with fans. “Today marks one week since we heard these words,” said the caption of a black and white photo of Joy in a hospital bed and Austin pressing his forehead against hers. “‘So this is your baby’s heart (pointing to the ultrasound screen). I don’t hear a heartbeat or see any movement.'”

They went on to explain that the doctors told them the horrible truth when they went in for their 20-week checkup. They also learned it would have been a little girl, and revealed her name would have been Annabell Elise. “Annabell means ‘God has favored me’, and Elise means ‘God satisfies’,” they explained. “What a precious thing to know that when our daughter opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face of Jesus.”

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Perhaps Joy and Austin learned how to handle the sad news with grace from watching Josiah Duggar and their sister-in-law Lauren Swanson go through a similar tragedy just months earlier. Lauren and Si shared their miscarriage back in February, and have since conceived another child.

“Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time,” Austin and Joy continued. “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.”

They also hinted that Joy might not be quite healthy in the wake of the painful development. “Please pray for continued healing, not only physically but for our hearts as well,” they asked. It’s definitely less common for a woman to miscarry after three months into her pregnancy, and Joy was five months. We just hope she’s feeling better as soon as possible, and our hearts are with the family in this difficult time.