Joy-Anna Duggar ‘Exhausted’ by Difficult Labor in New ‘Counting On’ Clip

Joy-Anna Duggar welcomed her first child, son Gideon, in February with husband Austin Forsyth, and the baby’s birth was documented for the couple’s reality show, Counting On.

A sneak peek of Monday’s episode, shared by PEOPLE, sees the first-time parents recounting their son’s birth, which ended in a C-section after the baby was breech.

“After about 19 hours of labor, the midwife realized that the baby was breech,” Duggar shared in the clip. “When they say a baby is breech, that means its head is turned up and its kind of sitting up in your belly and it’s supposed to be head down.”

While the couple had been planning on a home birth, Gideon’s position meant that they needed to go to the hospital for an emergency C-section.

“When the midwife came and told us that the baby was breech and that we had to go to the hospital, I was kind of discouraged because she had labored for so long and we were really hoping that we could just have a home birth,” Forsyth said in his interview. “But at the same time, I was ready to have this baby. Joy was tired and I’m just: ‘Let’s just do whatever it takes to get the baby here.’”

Joy had labored for over 20 hours at home and noted in her interview that a C-section was her “greatest fear.”

“Before I went into labor, having a C-section was my greatest fear. That was one of the things that I was scared of. I didn’t want to have to have a C-section,” she said. “But, by that point, I was really just like, ‘Whatever it takes I’m ready.’ I was exhausted. I was just ready to get the baby here in any way possible.”

Gideon eventually arrived safely, weighing 10 lbs., 3 oz. and measuring 22 inches long.

Like many of her siblings, Duggar has already been subject to mommy shaming, with the most recent bout happening after she shared a photo of Gideon drinking from a bottle.

“Not breastfeeding already?” one shamer replied to the photo.

Duggar responded to the critics on Instagram, replying to a fan who wondered, “The life of a stay-at-home mama. I make a to-do list for the week so every day I know what I need to do. Does Gideon take a bottle now or do you still nurse? Was just curious!”

“I give him a bottle & am still breastfeeding!!” the reality star wrote.

She also shared an update on her and Forsyth’s current living situation.

“Did you guys list your house? I see you are living in the RV again,” one fan asked, with Duggar responding, “We’ll be posting an update soon! Yes, we are living in a camper, and I love it!”

Photo Credit: TLC