The Duggars aren't particularly well known in Britain, and I only learned who they were when baby number 17 arrived. I thought that would be enough, but 41 year-old Michelle is once again pregnant.

Okay, so the first thing that's coming to the front of my mind is, what are the medical implications of having so many children? Are women's bodies typically capable of delivering 17 healthy children?

I was under the impression that as women get older, the risks of potential disabilities or developmental disorders grows - are these dangers exacerbated by the time you get into double figures?

My main issue here though, is that I don’t understand how these parents can give each one of their children the attention that they all need. If you take your eyes off a toddler for longer than three minutes, they’ll set your curtains on fire and gut your dog – probably out of pure frustration because they want you to notice them.

Also, when I was reading the comments about this story on a couple of blogs last night (yes, that’s how I spent my Friday night – there’s something about this clan and peoples’ reactions that fascinates me! XDD) there was a lot of talk of how socially irresponsible these people are. Most seemed to be concerned with the environmental implications of having so many children – what does everybody think about that?

One thing I will say just now, is that I really don’t appreciate their ‘gift from God’ comments. They are very anti-birth control, and supposedly use themselves as a good example of avoiding contraceptives. First of all, a gift from God would be the clouds parting and Jesus floating through your bedroom window with a Barry White CD, a tray of oysters and a copy of the Kama Sutra. I don’t know if I’d call Jim Bob rolling over to impregnate you a gift from the man upstairs a gift, but what do I know. If it is a gift God (I know you’re reading <3) maybe next year you could just send chocolates?

Secondly, not everybody receives hand outs from their neighbours like the Duggars, so I don’t know why anybody would use them as an example.

Personally, I don’t think that I agree with what they are doing. From what I’ve seen of them (they have a reality television show on the Discovery channel – feel free to YouTube) it seems as though the older children are doing a lot of the parenting. I think it’s a good thing to give children chores and responsibilities, but when parents can’t look after their own children without recruiting their first borns, then, IMHO, it might be a good time to stop having children. That being said, she is pregnant again, and I would not wish any harm on any of the family. Here’s hoping that she has another healthy child.

Oh, and did you know that all the Dugger sprogs’ names start with the letter J? Jennifer, Joshua, John David, Janna, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, and Johannah are already taken, and I don’t know if I can come up with many more. Wait, does DJ Jazzy Jeff count as a D or a J?!