Despite — or perhaps because of — the fact that she and her husband no longer appear on Counting On, fan interest in the life of Jill Duggar has reached an all-time high in recent months.

As you may recall, Jill’s husband, Derick Dillard, got fired from the show after he launched a transphobic tirade at fellow TLC star Jazz Jennings.

Shortly thereafter, Jill quit Counting On as a gesture of solidarity.

It may seem surprising, given that the move left the Dillards with two kids to support and no visible source of income, but it was in keeping with the deep sense of patriarchal deference the Duggar women were raised with.

Yes, in the beginning, Jill and Derick followed the typical blueprint for a Duggar couple.

But somewhere along the line, they lost the plot …

The most obvious way in which Jill and Derick have strayed from the Duggar playbook is no that they no longer take part in the lucrative family media empire.

But now that younger sister Jessa Duggar is pregnant with her third child, fans have picked up on another bit of anamolous behavior, as well.

Derick and Jill have two kids, ages 1 and 3.

That’s not so unusual for a young couple, but Duggar girls are taught from a young age that procreation is their primary reason for being.

As a result, many are surprised by the fact that Jill is nearly 28, and her 5-year marriage has yielded only two children.

The most obvious explanation is that Jill and Derick simply can’t afford to expand their family due to their lack of income.

But Duggar obsessives on Reddit think there’s more to the story.

Jill’s first two deliveries were C-sections, and in both cases, she was forced to abandon plans for a homebirth following excruciatingly long labors.

One Reddit user with medical experience explained the situation thusly:

“Just to add a bit of info to this, the major concern with subsequent cesarean deliveries is placenta accreta, meaning the placenta attaches too deeply into the uterus,” they wrote.

“This is a major problem because so much blood flows through the placenta (600-700mL/minute, or about 10% of a pregnant woman’s total blood volume).

“This means that an improperly managed accreta could lead to the mother bleeding to death in a matter of minutes.”

Yikes. The Duggars may be throroughly committed to the idea of siring massive broods (they even consider it a religious mandate), but we’re guessing even they would draw the line at a potentially deadly delivery.

After all, obvious drawbacks aside, Jill dying while defying her doctor’s orders would be seriously bad for the brand.