Entertainment

Joy-Anna Duggar's New Necklace Commemorates The Daughter She Lost

by Brianna Wiest

Over the summer, Joy-Anna Duggar and her husband Austin Forsyth announced the heartbreaking news that they'd suffered a pregnancy loss at 20 weeks. It's undoubtedly been an incredibly difficult time of grief for them and in the weeks and months that have followed, the Counting On star has opened up a bit about how they've been coping. Most recently, in a touching Instagram post, Joy-Anna Duggar shared a photo of a new necklace that pays tribute to the daughter they lost, who they'd name "Annabell Elise."

On Tuesday, Joy-Anna shared a photo of herself on Instagram wearing a pretty gold nameplate necklace. The closeup image revealed that the necklace had the name "Annabell Elise" engraved on it. Joy-Anna also shared in the caption that the necklace was a gift from her sister-in-law, Meagan Ballinger, as a way to remember her daughter.

"Thank you @meagalina for this thoughtful gift!" Joy-Anna captioned the photo on Instagram. "It means so much to have such caring family around me! I love you!" She also added the hashtags "#mysisterinlawislikemysister" and "#AnnabellEliseForsyth."

Several followers took to the comments section of the photo to say how thoughtful the gift was. "That’s a precious gift!" one follower commented, while another said, "It’s lovely, Joy! What a beautiful way to memorize your precious daughter." One more wrote, "So beautiful; she will always be remembered!"

In a devastating Instagram post over the summer, Joy-Anna and Austin shared with their followers that they'd learned they suffered a miscarriage when they "had gone in for our 20-week ultrasound and gender reveal."

"Although we don’t understand why, God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time," they shared on Instagram in July. "Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord."

Within the same post, Joy-Anna also shared the meaning behind the name that's engraved on her new necklace. "We named her Annabell Elise," she shared on Instagram. "Annabell means 'God has favored me,' and Elise means 'God satisfies.'"

A few weeks after announcing their difficult news, Joy-Anna, who has a 1-year-old son named Gideon with Austin, shared an update with their Instagram followers that their hearts were still "healing" and that they've looked to their faith to help them cope with their grief.

"Our hearts are healing. Yes, those days come that I miss my little girl so much. Wishing I could have met her, seen Austin love on her and Gideon play with her," Joy-Anna wrote on Instagram on July 26. "Yet, God has given us so much comfort. People say that I am strong, but I am not. It is Jesus’ strength that has carried me through. He’s given me a peace that passes all understanding and he has given me His JOY."

Everyone copes with pregnancy loss in their own, unique way, and Joy-Anna's openness about her devastating miscarriage may very well help others know they're not alone in their grief. According to the Mayo Clinic, around 10 to 20 percent of "known pregnancies end in miscarriage," though the actual number could be higher as "many miscarriages occur so early in pregnancy that a woman doesn't realize she's pregnant."

Although miscarriage is relatively common and more celebrities have been candid about their own experiences, coping with pregnancy loss is an emotional and difficult time. Fortunately, it seems like Joy-Anna and Austin have a loving and solid support system, helping them memorize the daughter they lost in touching and thoughtful ways.