Nadya Suleman: The Octuplet Mom

33 year old, Nadya Suleman from California gave birth to octuplets (8 babies) on January 26th 2009, which happen to be the second set of living octuplets in the United States. The first set of octuplets was born to Nkem Chukwu of Texas in 1998, however, their tiniest baby died a week later. This makes Nadya Suleman to be the first octuplet mom. Nadya's six boys and two girls of the healthy octuplet troop were born nine weeks premature at the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, California. The birth of the octuplets spearheaded a controversy in the United States, when people came to know these eight babies were the result of the implantation of 6 embryos, which was in violation to the professional guidelines.

Moreover, what added fuel to the controversy was that Nadya Suleman was already a mother of 6 children, age 2-7, before she gave birth to the octuplets, thereby taking the total number to 14. The other 6 children were also born through in vitro fertilization. Nadya, a single mother with no disposable income was surviving on student loans to sustain her family of six children before she decided to go in for another pregnancy. She survives on $490 food stamps a month and disability funds to run the house. 3 of her 6 children are disabled, one with ADHD, one with a speech impediment and the other with autism.

Early Life

Nadya was born to Angela and Edward Doud, as their only child on July 11th 1975. Nadya was a person who always dreamed of having a huge family. She longed for attachments and connections which she lacked growing as the only child. Nadya confessed that she did have a dysfunctional childhood. She loved children and aspired to have children of her own. Her mother, Angela in an interview with Dr. Phil of the Dr. Phil show said that Nadya kept talking about how she wanted to have many children even before she had finished college. Angela even tricked her into meeting a psychologist which did not result into much. The psychologist left shortly, saying that there wasn't anything she could do as Nadya was not one who changed her mind.

Nadya held a psychiatric technician license and worked at the Metropolitan State Hospital as a psychiatric technician. While at work she injured her back and filed for a worker's compensation claim in 1999. In 2001, she filed another claim for the same and is believed to have received $167,000 in benefits. Nadya was married to Marcos Gutierrez in 1996. However, in 2000, the couple separated because (according to Gutierrez) they were unable to conceive together. In 2006, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in child and adolescent development from the California State University. She returned to the same university with the intention of pursuing her master's degree in counseling but left the program halfway in 2008.

In Vitro Fertilization

Nadya had a history of 7 years of infertility. She says that she attempted to get pregnant through fertility drugs and artificial insemination before resorting to in vitro fertilization (IVF). The IVF treatment began in the year 2000, wherein 6 embryos were implanted into Nadya, resulting into the delivery of baby boy, Elijah Makai Solomon in 2001. She saw how the treatment resulted into a healthy baby and so went for the next pregnancy, giving birth to a girl in 2002. She gave birth to four other children in the next few years, wherein the last were a set of twins: one girl and one boy. In each pregnancy, six embryos were implanted. So by 2006, Nadya had undergone five pregnancies and given birth to six children.

Unplanned Eight

Nadya in her interview with Dr. Phil stated that she had not planned to have eight. Planning to give birth to eight according to her was simply crazy and insane. She said that in all her 5 pregnancies she was implanted with 6 embryos which resulted into a single child four times and a twin set in the fifth. She had expected the same outcome from this pregnancy as well. She was mentally prepared for one or at the most 2. The successful implantation of all 6 embryos of which two resulted into twin sets made the number eight. This was definitely not something that she planned for.

She continues to say that she believed having another child would not affect her 6 kids in any manner, which is why she went for another pregnancy. Nadya had another six frozen embryos stored in the fertility clinic and she couldn't bear the thought of destroying them. She felt they were her children and she loved them too. She did not want to look back when she got old and regret for not having taken the chance of having another baby. So she took the risk! She decided to have another baby and not let those frozen embryos die, since they were also human lives.

When she heard that all the six embryos were successfully implanted, she decided not to undergo reduction and kill the embryos. She went with the pregnancy and decided to give birth to them. She even goes on to say that until the time of the delivery, she and the doctors thought she was going to give birth to seven children and not eight. The eight baby was a surprise to all in the delivery room.

The Doctor behind the Implantation

The identity of the doctor responsible for the implantation of the 6 embryos in the womb of a woman with 6 children was hidden for some time. Number of questions regarding the ethics of implanting multiple embryos was raised. Dr. Michael Kamrava, the director of the West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills was pulled into the spot light as the specialist connected to the implantation. In Nadya's interview with the NBC (American television network), she said that all 14 of her children were conceived with help from the same doctor from the West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Michael Kamrava is the director of the clinic. However, she refrained from naming the doctor. The Medical Board of California said they were looking into this case and were checking for any "violation of the standard of care."

Biological Father

Nadya used donor sperm to conceive all fourteen of her children. She asked her ex-boyfriend, Denis Beaudoin to donate his sperm. Denis said that he had been to the fertility clinic thrice to donate his sperm. However, he says he wants a DNA test to be done to check if he is the father of any of the 14 children.

Octuplet Mom Website

Nadya Suleman says she loves her children and does not regret what has happened. However, she admits she took the wrong decision by opting for another pregnancy after 6 children. But what happened has happened! The truth is Nadya Suleman is the single parent of 14 children relying on food stamps and disability funds. She realizes she cannot handle it alone and needs assistance. She has launched her website asking for donations for her family.

Nadya Suleman, the octomom, will not only require mammoth financial assistance, but will also require a myriad of hands and physical aid to bring up her troop. Let's hope she is able to make her decision a right decision by loving her children and providing for them as she dreamed she would do.