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Thanks to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar bringing their 19 children in the spotlight, we’ve gotten to watch the kids grow up over the years. And Jill Duggar has attained a serious following even though she’s currently not seen on TLC’s Counting On with her other family members. From her husband, Derick Dillard, causing controversy on Twitter to Jill getting mom-shamed on Instagram, the mother of two is no stranger to fan criticism. And it seems many are also concerned with the midwife training she worked hard to attain.

We know Jill takes her midwifery seriously, but is she a licensed professional? Here’s why fans have spoken out against her practice.

Jill is a trained midwife and helped her sister, Joy-Anna, deliver her baby

Jill Duggar doesn’t have a job (the Duggars maintain the notion that the men of the household should be the breadwinners), but she is a trained midwife and has detailed her training in the past. People reports a clip all the way back from 2013 showed Jill training for two years and over 3,000 hours at that point. Jana Duggar was also training with Jill at the time — though it seemed Jill was more hands-on and prepared to take over the entire process one day.

As for how Jill first got interested in becoming a midwife, it began with her young friend who was expecting. Jill began attending childbirth classes with her friend and then worked actively during that birth to help the labor process. “I became friends with a doula/labor coach who worked in the area, and started going to home and hospital births with her. Soon, I became her assistant, and through that, I came into contact with other local midwives,” Jill explained.

We know Joy-Anna had an emergency C-section after those taking care of her realized the baby was breech, but older sister Jill was right there to help her along, too. Jill could be seen checking vitals for both Joy-Anna and the baby at the time.

Is Jill licensed? Many fans have attacked thinking she isn’t

There’s no doubt Jill has had a lot of midwife training, but many fans have accused Jill of not actually being licensed in the field. In Touch Weekly notes Jill is actually licensed, however. She posted a photo to Instagram years ago to prove she has her certification from the North American Registry of Midwives. While Jill is a certified professional midwife, some fans may have been confused by the title, as this doesn’t mean she’s a certified nurse midwife. A CNM requires a Bachelor’s degree, a year of nursing experience, and then an additional three years in a midwifery program.

Despite Jill’s certificate proving she’s fit to be a midwife, fans still took the comments to slam the star’s credentials. “Should have gone to school to get a formal education and been a nursing midwife,” one fan commented. “Can’t even practice in many states. Hopefully ‘certified midwives’ will not be able to practice in any state someday.” Another wrote, “Jill has a certificate and the woman she was working with is no longer allowed to work. There is a big difference in what Jill has than the CNM!”

There’s controversy surrounding the woman who trained Jill, too

Jill’s training was also called into question when fans found out who trained her. Redbook notes Vanessa Giron was a practicing midwife, and Jill receiving training first-hand from her. Unfortunately, a woman by the name of Tiffany Nance in Arkansas had a scary experience with Vanessa as her midwife. Tiffany claimed that she begged Vanessa to call an ambulance during the birth of her child, but Vanessa would not. Tiffany also claims that Vanessa’s negligence led to her baby being born with cerebral palsy.

After the incident, Vanessa’s license was revoked in the state of Arkansas. As for Jill, she didn’t seem too deterred by the incident, as she continues to practice. And Redbook also notes that Vanessa is back to being a midwife now, too — but this time, in Oklahoma.

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