Perhaps she suffers from a form of the psychosis that causes people to become animal hoarders. You know, the ones we see on the news that have a house full of dead, half dead, and sick animals in rooms covered with urine and feces. Maybe Nadya is a child hoarder.

I agree that we must put more thought into how to use the technology at hand. Just because we CAN do something does not mean we SHOULD. This is obsession at its worst.

Excellent article by Dr. Ablow. I hope he is able to get his viewpoint to those people who want to interview and reward this mother for her actions. The real victims are the kids. I dislike how the hospital staff made this event a glorious and wonderful thing when in reality a mother has brought 8 kids into this world and is not able to properly care for them. People watch John and Kate and think they too can have a TV show. Large liters should not be praised, but rather discouraged for all the problems it brings to the kids.

Dr. Ablow totally got it right and maybe he can help the mother or the kids.

This whole situation angers and saddens me a the same time. As a 37 year old woman suffering from unexplained infertility, I am at a complete loss for words. I waited my entire life to “do things right” get married and then have a child. And now, for reasons unknown to even my doctors, it just isn’t happening. Thanks to shows like Jon & Kate Plus 8, and now this story, my husband is so afraid of multiples that he’s concerned about me taking any type of fertility drugs. Not that we won’t do it, but the fear is there. We believe we’ve picked a good doctor who, when asked about the possibility of multiples and told of our fears, said “I want to try and help you have one healthy baby, multiples is not something I aim for, it’s not healthy for you or your babies”. Where was the medical ethics of the doctor that freely implanted EIGHT embryos into this woman? How did she PAY for it? I know all too well fertility treatments are NOT cheap and IVF can run nearly $30,000. AND, how does a doctor implant EIGHT embryos knowing that this woman already has SIX children? The whole thing angers me because of the unethical behavior on the doctor’s part AND on the womans’ part. And it saddens me that these children may all face very difficult futures if in fact they all live and the children she has already will likely suffer from negligence. There is no way humanly possibly to nurture that many children with eight being the same age.

This is a wonderful explanation of
her “psychological drama”
My hope is that all those children
will be able to take care of their mother.

I have six children and I became pregnant while taking birth dontrol pills with the last two. I love all my children and it was a chore to take care of them. i am very organized or I could not have made it. MY Mother was dead and without my Husbands help I could not have made it. Not only the physical part of raiseing them but the emotional part of rearing children is difficult. Only one of my children have children because they said I had enough for all of them. They actually felt sorry for me. It saddens me, but this women has a serious problem. I do not know what it is but I feel sorry for the children as they will have no identy. God help them.

Thank you Dr. Ablow for saying just about everything I thought about. I have children and I love every one of them. But all I keep thining about is what if something happens to her parents? Who will take care of the kids then? And at what point in all of this mockery of being a good parent will the state step in and start taking them because they are teenagers driving her nuts! I commend her for trying to go through the rpegnancy and not choosing to eliminate some of the babies in-utero. That is something that even I couldn’t do. But the Fertility specialist needs his liecensed yanked, or placed on the list of those responsible for paying for the upbringing of these children.

I am a Registered nurse, have five children, had twins, no fertility treatment and care for my children without the aid of anyone but my pay check and that of my husband. Suppose anyone willhire me to do a talk show about raising kids the right way? i think I’ll start asking for a couple million dollars to tell my story. Even John and Kate plus eight makes me queasy! People need to stop trying to profit off their kids just because they have them by the litter!

The story of this woman just sickens me. I am a woman who is childless not by choice and almost tried IVF to have a child of my own, my husband and I later backed out before starting the process. It is people like this woman who give the others wanting to try IVF a bad name. The doctor who did this to her should be held accountable and should have his license pulled ~ what a quack! She will probably end up having the children taken away from her by social services and the state of California will foot the bill!

I’m glad the companies who make baby products are not running to help her ~ she made this mess, let her take care of them without any help! As far as book deals and interviews, I hope she doesn’t get paid for any of that! The networks will be crazy if they do ~ I will stop watching any network that pays her for an interview!

It is irresponsible and unprofessional to diagnose someone you have never treated, and to speculate that the she meant to conceive 8 children based on rumors of what treatment she might have had. Apparently, wanting a larger than average family is serious mental illness in our self-centered society. It is hypocrisy to support a single woman in her 30’s undergoing in vitro if she has no children or one child, but to decide that after a few are born, its just a sign of mental illness. There are many children born to single mothers or into poverty. Reproduction is a fundamental human right, not just a priviledge of the middle class or wealthy. After the children were conceived, the choice was carry them to term or have a massive abortion. I bet if you ask her children in 18 years if they would rather have a pulse and exist, or have never been born at all, they will be glad to be alive. And they might have very strong sibling relationships as well. Comparing motherhood to drug or alcohol addiction is ridiculous and sensationalist. She has an education, and now that she’s off bedrest, will probably get a job and take care of her children just fine. Enough with the condemnation and slobbering rage. They are babies, they are here now, and they need all the help they can get.

This just shows that people in the U.S. are just becoming dumber and dumber specially people who think they will get away with everything. I really hope once she comes out of the hospital tv stations don’t glamorise her story and others follow her footsteps.

Diagnosing? I don’t think any one here is diagnosing anything. Most have stated the obvious, including the good Dr. Ablow. Having a large family isn’t a crime. It is a sickening when you decide that you have to be paid to talk about it. It is crazier still to think that this doctor implanted 8 embryos. Maybe a few split and ther are a few twins or something. BUt she isn’t married, everyone states that she “JUST LOVES CHILDREN”, and on and on and on. Trust me, when the kids are all 14 and the others a little bigger, she is going to go through the “I AM GOING NUTS’ stage. Kids no matter their age, will try to balk at everything a parent says in order to form their own personalities., It starts when they are tiny. 14 teenagers and young adults will see her in the Behavioral Health Unit somewhere in the future.

GOD knows there are a bunch of us out there praying for these children. Nobody is mad at the children. NO matter what religion you are, those kids need our prayers. I hope social services never has to step in, but I think the writing is on the wall!

And for the record, I don’t think it has anything to do with being a “DUMB AMERICAN.” It has to do with the intellegence of the human race in its entirety!

What a pathetic publicity stunt, and at the expense of these poor babies! She should not be allowed to collect a PENNY off the sensationalism that she has created here, and she should be charged for endangering the welfare of her children. I come from a large family and have a large family, and am all for siblings, relationships, and the like. But this woman has SERIOUS issues, and it probably all comes down to the one thing that everything comes down to – money. Let’s not give her any, folks!

Chilederen shou;d be placed in homes with couples who are not able to conceive hence wish to adopt!!!!!!!

Adoption id=s the only solution for the sad little orphans,, “which they would be growing up in this home, with , whT WILL BE A DESPERATE MOTHER HEN..

PLEASE TAKE MERCY ON THESE CHILDREN AMERICA,.
ˇHIS IS SELFISHNESS AT ITS WORST,,
where ARE HER PARENTS ” IN THEIR HEADS?? THE ARE CO CCOPLISHES,.!!

PUT THEM AWAY AS WELL GET THESE KIDS wy fromthe misery which faces them

” Born, raised in Sweden.. where we know how to limit ourselve, encourage small POLULATION PNGROWTH,, LIKE JAPAN AND and FINLAND.. The GOALSHOULD BE :::GOAL I 1-2 CHILDREN PER FAMILY!! NO MORE THAT IS ALL THE wester WOELD SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE UPCOMU=ING FOOD AND AWATER CISES IN THE world,,,,,,,,

What a mess, no human being was ever meant by GOD to have a “litter” of babies, the Bible only speaks of twins (Jacob & Esau) that is why women only have 2 breast not 8. How will you feed these babies? From 2002-2008 the mother recieved $165 K, in disability payments claiming back pain? What a LIAR!! in-vitro fertilization is an expensive procedure who paid for all these treatments and if your back was in constant pain why would you make an idiotic choice to get pregnant year after year and carry these babies which are added strain on your back! I know why, you are a mental case looking for a headline story filled with $$$$. I hope the media and tak shows regonize the game. IT’S A SCAM!!!!

Pop psychology?

Was this written for Suleman? Or to entertain readers?

River, you’re sadly, sadly, sadly wrong on all levels. Reproduction is a right of all people if each person was isolated and self-sufficient. But we live in a society where each person’s decisions affect people beyond yourself. Democracy is about freedom, but it’s not about unbridled freedom. Nobody in the country is free to do whatever they want whenever they want, or else it’s just chaos. Reproduction is not a right if you can not provide for them. Reproduction is not a right when you have babies expecting the taxpayers to raise your children for you. When did social responsibility become a myth? The issue is not that this woman had 8 children. The issue is that a woman who is clearly mentally ill without any means to support even her existing 6 children decided to have 8 more children to fill her emotional scars and void. The author is right when this is just another case of a person looking for a “drug” to bury her pains. The difference is that when she uses drugs, it’s only her body that she is affecting. Here she is ruining 14 other beautiful lives. Bless the children and I hope they can overcome the circus life their irresponsible and insane mother put them in.

River, you’re sadly, sadly, sadly wrong on all levels. Reproduction is a right of all people if each person was isolated and self-sufficient. But we live in a society where each person’s decisions affect people beyond yourself. Democracy is about freedom, but it’s not about unbridled freedom. Nobody in the country is free to do whatever they want whenever they want, or else it’s just chaos. Reproduction is not a right if you can not provide for them. Reproduction is not a right when you have babies expecting the taxpayers to raise your children for you. When did social responsibility become a myth?

You’re also missing the point when you think that people are outraged at this woman just because she wanted a larger than average family. The issue is not that this woman had 8 children. The issue is that a woman who is clearly mentally ill without any means to support even her existing 6 children decided to have 8 more children to fill her emotional scars and void. If she was emotionally and financially able to provide for her 14 children, then this wouldn’t be a problem. But the apparent case is that she herself can not provide for them in any way. Neither is she educated. Going to a community college is hardly a proud achievement.

The author is right when this is just another case of a person using a “drug” to bury her pains. A drug doesn’t have to be a chemical substance. It is the psychological effect from a stimuli. The difference is that when she uses chemical drugs, it’s only her body that she is affecting. Here she is ruining 14 other beautiful lives.

Bless the children and I hope they can overcome the circus life their irresponsible and insane mother put them in. They did nothing wrong so they deserve to have all the help they need. The mother does not.

Zahid, while this is a story of twisted ethics, its not an American that holds the record for most child but a Russian. “The world record for having the most number of children officially recorded is 69 by the first of two wives of Feodor Vassilyev (1707-1782), a peasant from Shuya, 150 miles east of Moscow. In 27 confinements, she gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets. The children were born between 1725-1765.”

Also for the women that want children, but are scared of multiple births, consider adoption. Right now there are over 50,000 children waiting for families in the US. see http://www.adoptuskids.org

This woman clearly hates her mother for not giving her siblings. She became a baby machine risking the health and life of the 8 babies. If she loves children as reported she could have gone into many professions to help other/underprividged children. Instead she is selfish, self-centered, and mentally disturbed. The doctor should, also, be held responsible.

This woman clearly h-a-t-e-s her mother for not giving her siblings. She does not love children. She is nothing more than a baby machine putting innocent lives at risk.

This woman clearly h a t e s her mother for n. o. t giving her siblings. She d.o.e.s not love children. She is nothing more than a baby m.a.c.h.i.n.e putting i.n.n.o.c.e.n.t lives at r.i.s.k.

WOW!!
Thank you Dr. K

While watching Nadya’s NBC interview, I was amazed with how much she looked and sounded like Angela Jolie…..the dark hair, big lips and the hints of an emotional need to surround herself with children…..wonder if maybe Ms. Jolie would consider stepping forward and helping this lady out…since she could be Nadya’s role model….

Thank you Dr. Ablow for this article which makes some sense of this disturbing individual who out of selfishness has taken it upon herself with the help of an unethical medical field to put herself in the limelight. I watched her interview this morning on the today show and not once did I hear her say she missed her other six children at home, thus she will put all of her attention in holding the 8 babies 45 minutes a day. When has she held her other six children and given them the attention they need. It is sad to say that all of her children will be neglected in many ways because of her selfishness. Even her mother was quoted as saying she was going to move and let her make it on her own. God help all of those children.

As a women going through IVF this is my only option to ever have a biological child, I was horrified by the actions of this mother. She has given Ivf a bad name. Her excuse was that she wanted to use all of her embyros-well fine. Did she do her research? Did she know that there are organizations out there that will let you adopt out your embyros to couples in worse shape where IVF isn’t even an option due to major problems with both partners. I looked into it and had planned that for my embyros if I had any left which I didn’t. Giving them up isn’t an easy choice but if she wanted a solution for the left over embryos there it is, IVF isn’t an easy choice to make. The reality of what you are doing can only be known by the DR’s and the patients, it is the hardest choice I think a women will have to make- what to do with any extras, but thats no excuse her behavior.
It is well known if women can get pregnant with only two implanted then no Dr, in there right mind would ever implant three.
IVF is a hard choice to make if you really want a child that badly. I am hoping for just one, not that I wouldn’t love more but if it works for my husband and I we would be over the moon with just one child.
She has given IVF a bad name and her Dr. should be punished.

The doctors should lose their licensing. Poor kids.

I’m a single woman who would have loved to have children but have opted not to because I cannot afford day care, tuitions etc and still afford to retire and care for myself when I am elderly. I wanted to be able to do it “right” or not at all. I also happen to believe that there are other ways to find fulfillment in life.

And this was not just a financial issue. What would happen to my child if I died? I would need to have drawn up a will specifying a trusted guardian to raise my child. I am doubtful Nadya has thought about this because if she died how could 6 – or 8 more – possibly be raised together? I decided that having a child in my circumstances would be selfish. And I have a higher income than a masters in counseling will ever be able to earn!

I’ll be doing what Nadya should have done – enjoying the company of children through my friends’ children, and volunteer efforts and donations toward academic scholarships.

Even if she does love children as much as she claims, there are so many other – perhaps better – ways to do something good for children, including adoption and fostering.

I completely agree with Dr. Ablow’s comments. Nadya should have chosen therapy over having children, ideally before her first child and definitely after her second child. Resolving the issues from her childhood with a competent therapist or mental health professional would mean that any subsequent children Nadya chose to have would hopefully have been born into a loving family where their needs are paramount, not the parent’s.
As a single parent, and having had many years of therapy and parenting lessons, working on resolving my own issues from childhood and in relationships shows in my child’s growth and mental health. Being realistic about my situation, I chose to have only one child and give her the best that I could, with the help of familyand friends.
Maybe the money Nadya received for her disability could have been better used in therapy and definitely the fertility clinic should be investigated for their participating in this farce of parenthood and creating a family.

While I will agree, there is certainly something a bit off about this woman. I think it’s a bit of a stretch and as noted unprofessional and irresponsible to assume that there is a barrenness of her psychological landscape, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and that she has all these issues.
And not every single mother has tons of issue’s and needs intensive therapy. Since none of us have been on the inside to see what goes on in the home we should not judge should we? Personally I question her reasoning but there is also that family that is what, on their 18th child…and that isn’t questionable?
Oh Zahid, thank you for your kind words. I certainly don’t see your comment about Americans being in anyway rude.

Interesting article. Now, Dr. Ablow, do us all a favor and go inside the minds of the physicians who allowed this regrettable event to occur.

Something just doesn’t add up at all here. A doc that would implant 6 first of all (I guess 2 of them split into twins = to a mom under 35 with 6 children already, in this country, hard to beleive, almost impossible to believe.

And to someone who is on disability and may or may not have health insurance? I know they are investigating the doctor who did this now, if there is any. She showed up at Kaiser 3 mo into the pregnancy, has not named the clinic, to my knowledge, such a lot of secrecy? Are we to think that she used her disability money for the fertility treatments and her extensive plastic surgery as well?

After watching her interview and reading her history, I think she may be a pathological liar. Not sure why, I’m just getting the sense that so much is not adding up here.

As someone who has had a lot of firsthand experience with the fertility treatment world, this whole thing just stinks from here to Sunday. My first reaction was injectibles she got illegally, sperm donor, whatever. I will be very shocked to hear if they actually name a doctor or fertility clinic in this country that would have done this.

Where are the freedom of choice people????????

George sr, freedom of choice doesn’t mean do whatever the hell you please dumbass. That’s why there are laws. I have now seen both her interviews, and she has NOT answered ANY questions asked to her. She has either blatantly LIED by giving contradictory statements or AVOIDED the question by answering with completely irrelevant responses. So she’s either crazy or lying. Either way, it’s a person unfit to be a parent because in the first case, she won’t be able to provide the best environment to raise the kids, and in the second case, she just had 8 kids for the money.

You don’t need psychoanalysis on this one. This lady is a narcassist and, realizing that her contribution to the world will be nil; opted for fame as a brood mare instead. Unfortunately her litter will end up being state “sponsored.” So she has 8 babies through IVF (very, very expensive) babies are premature (very, very, very expensive) and they are at KAISER–the same KAISER that seemingly hopes people will die before they have to approve a life saving bone marrow transplant. Interesting!

From where comes the money (and time !!)- 14 high priced kids and $$$$$ tuiution ??

Not one penny should go to her – ultra narcissist. She is siphoning money from the public which has to WORK for it !!

I was raised as an only child too. It created in me a sense of gratitude for being the sole focus of my parents’ energies. This so-called mother seems driven by an egotistical belief that she alone can satisfy the needs of 14 medically-created rather than God-given children. It is selfish of her to think of her desires before the needs of these poor souls. What kind of spiritually bereft person would wilfully create a fatherless brood of 14 to satisfy some bizarre notion of herself as a mother????

Nadya also lied about not getting assistance from the government:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/02/nadya-suleman-w.html

Not only that, her publicist tries to cover up the lie by saying

“In Nadya’s view, the money that she gets from the food stamp program … and the resources disabilities payments she gets for her three children are not welfare. They are part of programs designed to help people with need, and she does not see that as welfare.”

So if welfare isn’t designed to help people with need, then what is it? Money for the rich? What a blatant lie by the publicist too.

I am in no way applauding the decision made by the mother of the octuplets and her doctor, but I believe the public outrage is misplaced. Where are all the “Pro-Choice” supporters? Do they believe a mother has the right to kill her unborn child, but not have the right to reproduce in any way she chooses? I don’t understand. Nadya may not be completely rational in her thinking, and her children may suffer the consequences, which is heartbreaking, but I don’t believe we can be on both sides here. Does a woman have the right to choose, or not?

Regarding the finances of the situation, please don’t argue that this family has any less right to government assistance than all the others who have spent the taxpayers’ money to support their families. We need a solution for all of it. If the mainline news media and the tabloids are interested in publishing this story, this is a tremendous opportunity to give everyone a choice about supporting the family. If you desire, buy the magazines & newspapers, and support this family. When Nadya can afford to hire 14 nannies, the children will be cared for and loved just as much as any Hollywood mother.

Dr. Ablow hit on something that I’ve been wondering about since this whole story broke. Didn’t someone do any psychological testing on this woman before the proceedure? Isn’t that standard practice at fertility clinics? She had 6 children using this method and then wanted more and no red flags went up for any health care professional?
Or maybe I’m wrong and there is no testing or therapies done.

I’m disgusted by this whole thing. Those POOR BABIES! I have a husband and a 5 month old, 2 year and 8 year old and am always tired just from the 3 kids. I look at my baby girl and she is so eager for me to hold her, dance with her, etc. There will be 8 little ones begging for love and attention and they will NOT get it. 45 minutes a day is NOT ENOUGH! – and I think she won’t even do that. She’s completely ignored her other 6 and the Grandma says her daughter hasn’t helped in one bit with raising those 6. I weep for those little spirits. This is worse than a puppy mill… why is the government not stepping in and protecting those babies. It is my prayer they will be removed from that home (with Grandma’s blessing) and go to homes that will actually LOVE and pay attention to them. I’m am so sad for those innocent babies.

This is a real tragedy. No one in their right mind could deliberately have 14 children and believe they are a good parent! It’s not about love. It is impossible to think that one parent could possilby care for 14 children and do well by any of them. If was a horrible disservice to the children she already had to create even one more.
Does this women think she is the only women that dreamed about being a mother? A good parent considers the welfare of all of her children. She should also consider what she is putting her parents through.
I believe she would be doing a favor to all her children to put these babies up for adoption. Maybe then they would have a hope for a future filled with love and responsible upbringing, not chaos and fear.
While it is true that some people have received a great amount of help financially and with volunteers to help care for multiples it is terribly naive and irrisponsible to think that anyone has the right to count on help like this and then create this type of situation. All fourteen of her children are at risk .

Excellent article by Dr. Ablow, CPS needs to get off of there butts and protect these innocent children. Even there own grandmother has spoke out now and said there is no way the mother is fit to raise
the children. The mother has dumped the 6 children on grandma all ready and grandma can not take care of them let alone 8 more. All of the children deserve to be taken care of and noone can do it without alot of money and alot of help. This women is mentally ill , looking to make millions by haveing them she doesnt give a dam about being a mom .The boyfriend who donated the sperm is known now so he along with the crazy ass doctor need to step up and help these innocent children. Anyone can have as many kids as they can take care of but no unwed mother without a job , who plans full time school is able to care for 14 kids . The mother is a very very mentally ill women. Boycott anything that will give her a dime , let these babies go into loveing homes with normal parents. Look at the condition the 6 kids are liveing in and image 8 more liveing there. Her mother said she has not helped with the 6 kids how do you think she will help with 8 more. And something to think about she probably will do it again in a year or so. She is blameing her parents because she had a unhappy childhood she just sounds sick to me . God Bless and protect the innocent children.

This is Child abuse and nothing more. The children belong in good homes where they will get what they need. All 14 of them she is very very ill.

Hey, Pricilla, your comment concerning the difference in “medically created” v. “God-given” children sounds elitist and boorish. I have the blessing of three handsome male children, which one do you want to discriminate against because he was IVF? Can you tell the difference? I in no way shape or form support the crazy Mom’s choice, but don’t blame the kids! They are the only innocent ones in this bunch!

I think honjii is MORE right than anyone.

This is all about the children. This ill individual needs long term treatment and the newborns should be placed in homes where they will thrive, develope and have all thier needs met,not by the public welfare system either, instead ,by responsible people, who have the means to properly care for and raise children.

This whole discussion saddens me because I just see things well beyond today. What will happen when all of her children get older and they see all this? From the sounds of things, people have indirectly labelled these children as “mistakes”. Now who’s contributing to a future psychological complex? Whether any of us is for or against what Nadya has done is neither here nor there. How do you know that you won’t lose your job during this recession and also become one who receives food stamps? How is it our business whether she or anyone is on any public welfare program? Instead of everyone being so quick to judge and condemn the mother, shouldn’t we as the public be willing to help these children? Shouldn’t the public try to help this mother get the psychological help that she may need? Now there’s talk of wanting CPS to step in…. but in all honesty what has she done wrong? Is it that she has better “luck” with IV that most? So what if she’s broke… this country has been sending money into foreign countries for decades to help support and feed the children. Those people overseas drop kids like spitting peas, but now that it’s on our own soil… suddenly it’s criminal to give birth. There’s more to life than money. Sometimes you just take what God gives you. Where’s your faith?

I was shocked at the Jolie/Pitt arrangement. They are loving parents but to have so many children takes the energy and personal care of parents. Although they can afford them. Jolie is a natural beauty coming out of a really dark past.

This latest – SHE HAS LOST HER MIND.

After reading a number of reactions made by fellow readers on this controversial octuplet’s mother which Dr. Ablow had written about, I have also thought that this woman doesn’t only have compulsion and some unresolved personal issues but something about fame and money that she is after with the cooperation of that unethical doctor who i supposed is also seeking some kind of twisted greatness and had only used Nadya. At the expense of 8 innocent babies ,both nadya and her doctor have been using each other for thier own selfish desires. California taxpayers should think well before extending thier doleouts to this kind of mother.

I believe that the sooner people stop paying attention to this matter, the quicker the mother will be out of the news. Don’t interview her anymore!!!

How did Nadya get welfare if she was getting over 165,000 dollars in disability payments? Further, how could she afford the 100,000 dollar IVF costs that she stated in her inverview with Ann Curry? I am certain more truths will come out from her lying by omission interviews. She stated that she will give all 14 of her children her undivided individual attention. How will she do that when she goes back to school and eventually to work, because there are only limited hours awaake with the majority of waking hours dedicated to work. For instance, if she works exactly 9-5, plus travel time to and from home. How can she give 14 children, 6 of whom with different ages, enough attention before an average bedtime between 19:00-20:00. The answer is it is impossible for her to do it alone. She is suffering from delusions of grandeur, if she thinks she can rear these 14 children alone and turn them into well socially adjusted contributers to society. Obviously, Nadya has some serious psychological problems. I find it aprehensible that she wants to become a counselor when she is in need of some deep psychiatric therapy herself.

I totally agree with this statement find it aprehensible that she wants to become a counselor when she is in need of some deep psychiatric therapy herself.

Thank you Dr. Ablow. Very good article and I completely agree with your comments.

It makes me feel very sad for these 14 little kids. I’m a single mom of one and know it’s a difficult job to raise good kids. My philosophy is that if you’re going to have children, then you take care of those kids yourself. You pay for them, you provide daily care and you nuture a positive environment. I can’t wait to see Ms. Suleman take care of all 14 by herself with no help (or money) from anyone. Oh wait, she isn’t even doing that now. (Food stamps are welfare Ms. Suleman) If you can’t do it and do it well, then don’t have so many babies. Did no one see this before her 7th pregnancy?

This woman is ridiculous! She and her doctor should be investigated! The state of california can add a few million dollars to their debt now thanks to this woman! They should put the same restrictions on IVF as they do adoptions! This is a prime example why!

consume, destroy, multiply….. this is the most irresponsible thing i have ever seen. she has 8 more kids when she is already on government support. i for one am sick of irresponsible decisions being rewarded. irresponsible lending…bailout, have ten kids…..don’t have to work and get money from hard working taxpayers…. should i have to suffer and have higher taxes to pay for your kids because i made good decision and you made bad ones……what kind of message are we sending to the younger generations? if you make irresponsible decisions, that you cannot support with your own income, others will carry you through…….if everyone could just sit at home all day and not go to work then everyone would relax all day…. a lot of us go to work everyday and live on a tight budget and all we feel like we do is go to work every single day

Wow..maybe she needed & wanted the media attention & now she got it. She had her 15 minutes of fame..now she should go be a loving mom..she wanted children, she has plenty of them now. What a sick woman. Poor children.

Why is it that single moms think they can get away with murder and the populace will applaud it like she is Mother Theresa?

The only thing missing from her story is how she had to heroicly overcome adversity (spousal abuse, choldhood molestation, etc., etc., etc…).

Gawd, I can’t wait to see Ms. Suleman interviewed by Steve Wilkos (for thos of us who don’t remember Jerry Springer).

Quite obviously this woman acts contrary to the best interest of the very children she produces and should be invetigated by Child Protective Services for parental fitness.

It has been discovered that Suleman is on welfare and the hospital is seeking state-aide for the children (so the Suleman is not beyond lying to get her way).

Suleman states that “all she wanted is to have children”… yet it seems that the natural order of things has evaded her.

Once upon a time, women who want children would go to school FIRST, then meet a suitable husband and settle down to the joyous task of bringing forth a family.

Now we have flat broke women incapable of engaging in an adult relationship, spending other people’s money on fertility treatment and lip enhancement plastic surgeory in order to go on TV and explain why everyone should applaud her for squeezing out an artificial brood.

Dear Dr.,
This is one reason why I worry about medicine tampering with human life. First we abort the fitusses and then we cause multiple births with the outcome most probably being horriffic for these children. I know many people who have had both procedures and the metal angush can pray upon the soul. I do hope that the Doctor who performed this procedure is delt with by the medical profession. I feel so sorry for those kids; not only what who mentioned in the article but hopefuly none of them will have any mental or pysical disabilities that will keep them from having a good and prosperous life. It’s funny I was raised with the atitude that you have what you can afford. I guess this is a lost practice for some.
Great Article
Respectfuly Yours
JRS

This is a story of a woman with a lot of psychological problems as well as a physician, if one can call him that, all of whom wanted fame and fortune and to see the WOW factor added to their lists of accomplishments. I haven’t watched her interviews, as quite frankly I refuse to give her the time of day when it comes to adding ratings to the televisions shows to take the time to seat her in front of a camera.

This is also the story of 14 little human beings who need our love and support, be it prayers or open hearts and open doors, so that they can live and grow and be normal! These are children who will need a little counseling of their own to understand why the world was outraged at their births. They need to kow we aren’t outraged at them as individuals and I hope that we can be careful of what we call them…brood, litters, etc. because none of thisis the fault of the children.

This is the story of a grandmother who seems to be angry with the actions of her daughter who has been made to look as if she was a negligent human being because she didn’t show her child enough love as she grew into adulthood.

This is a story that has to do with responsiblity. Single mothers can and are responsible just as there are those couples married or otherwise, who are irresponsible when it comes to raising their children. I fully believe the physician responsible should have to pay child support!

May these children find good homes in the near future filled with love and joy.

Definitely want to see an article by Dr Ablow about the mind of the IVF specialist who created this mess!

Go ahead and presume to diagnose away, Dr. Ablow! If anyone can, it’s professionals like you. I think quite enough information can be gathered about Ms. Suleman via her interview(s), statements her mother has made, previously documented facts, and of course, Ms. Suleman’s recent/current actions to come up with a working thesis, can’t you?

Let’s start a pool: I’m going with “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” Ms. Suleman’s only true concerns revolve around HER needs and filling that hole Dr. Ablow talked about. Anyone with their head screwed on even half straight would not purposefully have even more children (on top of an existing six) while having no decent income, no home of their own, and no partner.

I’ve seen some comments (not many here, but other forums) from people wondering why so much of the public seems angry at Nadja Sulemon. I plead guilty to being angry, too. Why? Because Ms. Sulemon is violating/abusing her responsibilities by INTENTIONALLY burdening society with a number of children she KNOWS she cannot possibly take care of. That’s why – and it’s a completely valid concern.

Ms. Suleman is an extremely sick woman. IMO, she’s as twisted as an old-fashioned pretzel. I feel sorry for anyone (except the publicists and doctors who are making their living off this situation) in her warped orbit. My sympathy extends mainly to her children and her poor mother – who simply can’t take it anymore.

Following my own observations about opinions, I’ve been biting my tongue on the backlash of opinions being shared the world over about this mother of 14. I’ve been waiting to finalize my thoughts until we had a chance to hear directly from the horse itself, so to speak. Finally, Dateline has given us the opportunity to hear from Ms. Suleman herself.

Having listened to the interview it’s difficult to keep one’s opinions quiet. While I have opinions about her already having 6 children and not being married and then adding to her family, I don’t think it’s my place or anyone else’s to make judgments. But I stop cold when I learn that she has NO INCOME and is living off food stamps, student loans, disability and the goodness of her parents. (Interestingly, her own mother’s interview certainly comes off as though they share the world’s disgust.) It’s not as though this was some accident, Ms. Suleman chose to have IVF and to keep all 8 babies.

Listening to Ms. Suleman speak about providing both emotionally and financially for her brood, it becomes quite clear that she isn’t living in reality. Without dissecting the selfish reasons for which she chose to have so many children or the risks she took of leaving her first six without a mother, I’ll stick to the financial and emotional issues.

How can one think that her decision to have these children is anything short of emotional and financial ignorance? Given that she lives with her parents, where there are a total of 9 people crammed into 1,500 sq. ft. of space, how does she expect to cram another 8 into that space? This is certainly not fair to the children or her parents; and one has to question whether that many people in that space is even healthy.

In reading the financial analysis of the basic costs of diapering, feeding, and transporting to doctors and eventual childcare costs alone, it is obvious that without government assistance or relying on donations she is not capable of providing for these children. Some have compared her to Angelina Jolie (both for looks and desire to have a large brood). Here’s the difference as I see it…Angelina and Brad can afford to provide for their children as well as afford to secure the additional help that it takes to raise such a large family – not to mention the fact that they are providing homes for existing homeless children.

Even if companies and people step up to help (for the benefit of the children – not because of her), her ability to provide the emotional and physical attention these children will need and deserve is highly questionable. We don’t let people have obscene quantities of cats, dog or pets in a home that is not equipped to handle them. It appears as though cramming that many people in the existing home borders on the same obscenity. A home of 1,569 sq. ft. divided by 17 people provides a total of 92.3 sq. foot per person!

No one wants these kids to suffer. Yet how do we as a society help provide for these children’s needs without reinforcing this woman’s selfish indulgence and encouraging others to act so irresponsibly?

Hopefully our society, from doctors to the women who want children so desperately to every taxpayer learn from this experience. We cannot judge this women for being careless. She already said this is it, and I do not think she expected all embryos to survive. It is our social responsibility to care for the poor and this woman is poor in several ways. Californians that do not want to help her, because of her decision to not abort thus resulting in 8 preemies, need to take a look at their states financial spending, and taxing. They are in a desperate situation because of their politicians not because of a single mother with 14 children. Everyone needs help sometime in their lives, as she now does. California’s politicians need to decide to spend more and more and more conservatively. They will always have the poor among them and will be held responsible by the Almighty for their judgements and their action. California pull in the reins of your spending politicians, they need to learn to pinch pennies and say no to much of their own spending.

Thank all of you, I’am a mother of three childrens. This young women along with her Doctor has created more “Wefare Kids”. What about this man who supplied the sperm for this? I think he need to step up and take care of these kids, he help make them. As for the mother, there is no doub she has some psycholgical problems and need alot of help. The Doctor should had known that and got some therapy for her. Also I think that this Doctor need to be investigated and lose his licence. I feel sorry for all of her childrens, I hope they have good family members to help them.

CPS . WHERE ARE YOU????? THIS IS CHILD ABUSE . THERE ARE PLENTY OF PROGRAMS TO GET THIS MOTHER INTO CPS DO NOT LET THESE CHILDREN SUFFER GET HER THE HELP YOU WOULD GET FOR HER IF YOU DID TAKE THE CHILDREN AND KEEP HER KIDS WITH HER . PROTECT THESE BABIES. IT’S TO LATE TO SAY SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE HAD THEM THEY ARE HERE AND NEED PROTECTION. SHE NEEDS MENTAL THERPHY AND CLASSES ON WHAT IS IS TO PARENT NOT ONLY ONE CHILD BUT 14 . THERE ARE OVER 5,000.00 KIDS IN FOSTER CARE RIGHT NOW THEY ALL END UP SUFFERING FROM BEING REMOVED AND MOST ALWAYS GO HOME SO WHY BOTHER REMOVEING THEM PAY FOR THEM TO STAY IN THERE OWN HOMES GIVE HER THE RESOURCES YOU END UP GIVEING ANYWAY MAKE HER FOLLOW THE RULES AND NOT JUST SLIDED YOU ARE THE ONLY PROTECTION THESE CHILDREN HAVE DO YOUR JOB. t
THIS WILL BE A LIFETIME JOB IT CAN NOT BE FIXED IN A FEW MONTHS THIS IS HER LIFE AND HER CHILDRENS LIFE EITHER PROVE HER INSANE WHICH I DONT THINK SHE IS OR HELP HER . FOSTER CARE ISN’T THE ANSWER ADOPTION IS AND SHE WILL NEVER GIVE THEM UP SO DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT THEM.

According to the AFCARS Report (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Report), there were approximately 542,000 children in the U. S. in foster care on September 30, 2001.

THERE ARE OVER 5,000 JUST IN MY STATE. AND GUESS WHO PAYS FOR THEM? iF AT ALL POSSIBLE I TRUELY HOPE THESE 14 CHILDREN DO NOT END UP IN FOSTER CARE. UNLESS THEY WERE PUT INTO THE CARE FOR ADOPTION. JUST FOSTERING THEM TO GO BACK HOME WOULD ONLY HURT THEM MORE.

Let us remember that our country is at war in Iraq, and at here in USA we seem pre-occupied with Nadya Suleman, a prime example of overindulgance and overinflated sense of self entitlement.

Nadya Suleman is Iraqi, so maybe her family overseas will be able to help with some of the expense. Perhaps some of her family back home will have jobs waiting for the 6 boys in her latest brood.

Paul Harris – New York
The Observer, Sunday 1 February 2009

“But when Nadya Suleman’s father, Edward, briefly emerged, he did not appear full of the joys of enlarging his family with more grandchildren. “I wish it happens to you people, so you go through hell,” he snapped at the media throng as he unloaded bags of shopping from his car. It was later revealed that Edward was considering going back to his native Iraq – where he has worked as a contractor – in order to raise some cash for the family. As the bidding war begins for Suleman’s story, the quickest and most likely route to financial security is likely to be a publishing contract.”

It is sad that she would put her children through this but it is to late now children don’t ask to come in this world. Yes it will take a lot of money to raise them and she don’t have it but two most important things in life for a child is trust and love not designer clothes. Maybe she can get herself together and put something up for their education. I mean no child may it be 1 or 14 ask for the parents they have so they should not have to suffer. I really think the goverment should rule over her and tie her tubes because yes she have the right to have them but it is not her right to make other people work and provide their needs. I just hope that now they are here that everyone accept them and love them most importantly that she love them.

Where is the moral outrage??????????????. This is child abuse. CPS protect the children. No child needs to be treated the way the 14 kids are . Do the right thing DEMAND THAT CPS PROTECT THE CHILDREN.

Write to your State Reps: Gov, Obama have them step up and make sure no other children are put into this position, We need a Law stateing how many eggs can be implanted we do not need to put children at risk and this has put all 14 in this case at risk. I believe in this treatment two of my own grandchildren came into our lifes because of it but this one doctor has done something that he should be charged with which is CHIL abuse. He tryed to play God and ended up hurting 14 children . Demand he be charged and new laws need to be brought in now.

It is sad that this woman has brought about this revolting chain of events. When normally the birth of a child is a source of pride and regarded as a blessing, she has successfully turned it into a circus without regard to the future of the children involved. The only way that I think it will be fair to all concerned, is to put up the 8 little ones for adoption. This woman has obvious mental issues if she cannot decipher the enormity of challenges her brood is facing right now. Let us not just talk about the 8 babies, let us factor in the other 6 as well.

In the same manner that there are rescue efforts accorded to animals being treated inhumanely, what more of children who are human beings! Her definition of love is so bogus. The govt should intervene now and have those new babies taken into custody for their own protection. The mother may sound willing to take care of them, but it is just not doable anyway you look at it. Do we have to wait for this woman to really lose her marbles and really put the lives of all the children in jeopardy? Save the children from this woman NOW!

This woman has major mental problems not stemming from being a only child. She seems to hate her parents. She will/can never raise these children. Even the 6 she had earlier say they don’t want the 8 around. I hope social services steps in as I fear these children will be eating off a dirty floor covered with feces.

Suleman appears to have the scruples of an ally cat and the brains of a gnat. No responsible and caring parent would be so cavalier about the lives of her children as this wretched, narcissistic female appears to be; Suleman’s actions make it clear that she cares nothing for the children she already has, or she would have tried to do something for them besides supplying them with a seemingly endless supply of brothers and sisters. And she cares even less for the well-being of the octuplets—if she did, she would not have exposed them to the dangers inherent in multiple births. Some of these children will undoubtedly suffer from physical and developmental disabilities, to say nothing of the psychological and emotional damage that will be inflicted by neglect and the selfishness, immaturity, and stupidity of their mother.

And as for Suleman’s defenders who say that it’s nobody’s business how many children Suleman has and how they got here, Suleman’s mouthpieces should remember that with freedom must come responsibility. Freedom become sociopathy when it impinges on the rights of others; taxpayers did not ask for this responsibility and think being forced to pay for Suleman’s stupidity and blatant greed interferes with their own rights. They deeply resent the bill for the Suleman fiasco that is starting to come due just as their own bills keep piling higher and higher. Perhaps taxpayers believe they should have the freedom to say no to supporting this despicable woman.

Thinking it’s A-okay to shift Suleman’s responsiblities onto us taxpayers and suggesting it is none of our business is idiotic. Better remedy: (A) Optain an order to revoke Dr. Kamrava’s license. (B) Obtain a court order to remove Suleman’s custodial rights. (C) Obtain a court order to commit Nadya to a state facility, insuring no further harm to society, herself and children. (D) Order donation site removed. (E) Order donations be put in trust. (F) Order sperm donor to pick up tab for his own baggage and littering.

Contact your State Government demand they protect the children. There are ways they can protect them and not remove them. Do not just say words do something that will protect the children. It doesn’t matter how you feel about the mother it’s over she has the children now a . Protect them by calling or e-mailing your state goverment officials and voiceing your concern for the childrens saftey . http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories.shtml

I certainly think the father has some responsibility in this. You father children and you must be legally responsible for them or make sure whoever you donate them to is able to financially and emotionally able to care and provide for your offspring. Ultimately the whole thing originated with his approval to have his seed make children. Although as crafty as Nayda is, if it wasn’t him, she would have wooed some other unsuspecting male to go along with her program. It’s not about single parenting, that is done everyday by choice and by accident…..and it’s not even about wanting a large family….that too is a choice…….but the real problem is Nayda whom CHOSE to be a single parent and CHOSE to have a large family with one BIG problem,…no ample means to financially and emotionally support her children. She cannot possibly give these kids what they deserve and need. PLUS she also CHOSE to bring disabled children into the world by her foolish choices to carry multiples and use frozen embryos and back to back pregnancies not giving her body a rest, knowing the risks involved. Talk about not giving these kids a chance.It is appalling and selfish and can only be rationalized that she has a serious mental disorder with narcissistic overtones; she is incapable of true love for her kids or a man.

Children are in jeopardy and CPS are the only ones who can protect the children. Will CPS do there job and protect them???????????????????????????????????????????

This mother is getting over 30.000 a year right now with SSi and food stamps. Plus Millions in medical. Noone should be able to do this to 14 children . CPS where are you. Cps looks like fools by not stepping in and at least getting this women on a case plan. How long are they willing to wait ? The children need protection NOW.

CASE OF ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL: I agree with comment by Madchen, February 15th, 2009 at 6:37 pm. Nothing other than a complete and total abomination, an affront to personal responsibility. Culpable parties should bear the burden and the shame.

Nadya Suleman is totally off the deep end, Oprah was wise to drop her like a watered-logged sack of cement. Suleman hopes to become a TV Childcare Expert? Absurd. Illusions of Granduer, abnormal false perceptions, are signs of a mental disorder. Many mentally disturbed woman have killed all their children. The public pays for their prison time. The public is not the ones that need to be pro-active. CPS needs to be pro-active. Suleman has no means or ability to care for 14 children and lacks adequate housing according to California Code of Regulations/Uniform Housing Code.

Residential Occupancy Standards: A home must have at least one room of 120 square feet. Additional rooms must have at least 70 square feet. Two people can occupy each room and for each additional 50 square feet, an additional person can occupy the room. The Code does not distinguish between a bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. All rooms can be used for sleeping except bathrooms, hallways,closets, and stairwells. When stable working people are losing there homes all over our nation, Suleman is not who deserves being bailed out. Every taxpayer’s rear bumper should carry a NO FREE LUNCH NADYA sticker. Proceeds to go to a ~ Legally State Registered Charity Organization; 501c3 that benefits a broader scope rather than a single person or family. SPREAD THE WEALTH.

OPTO-CON’S house of cards are falling one by one but opportunists are still coming out of the wall; milking it for all it’s worth! Manipulators like Suleman, left to her own devices, fall victim to their own devices. Universal Law of Cause and Effect; the wheel is round. Suleman’s hired gun has jumped ship. “Faith-based” agent replaced Killeen. Agent York is a new player with a two-fold ploy: (1) Gain sympathy and support of Moral Majority through offerings.(c) Gain world-wide publicity as a Good Samaritain who is working for the Lord. Mr York, backing heinous lack of responsibility is not working for the Lord. Come clean string bean! Suleman’s babies are not the miracle work of the Lord nor was it the Lord’s voice that Suleman heard in her head telling her it was time to reap the harvest; glean her frozen fertilized batch from the lab. No miracle birth here!!! Kaiser Hospital saw an opportuny for fame and fortune too. Under law, indigent patients with no insurance are taken to County Hos[ital for medical care. Kaiser had ample time to transfer Suleman out; chose otherwise. Want CAL to pony up. Hello Kaiser –CAL is also in a fiancial crisis. Can Suleman’s Agent York generate enough money to fix that first. For God’s sake Agent York, where’s your head? CAL STATE has more mouths to feed than the Kaiser 8. Don’t bite on lies. Suleman claims, “wanted one more girl”. Embryos can be sexed before implanting. 6 boys? Suleman is a psycopathic liar! Can’t keep her lies straight!

The thought plickens. Could divorced duo, grandpa and gramma Suleman both be claiming Nadya and her brood of six living with them as dependents on their separate federal income tax filing forms? Could grandpa Suleman be claiming his divorced wife as a dependant or does his divorced wife claim herself? Figuring monthly combined incomes, Nadya’s SSI check for her disabled children, grandma’s monthly retirement check from her teaching job, grandpa’s yearly income from Iraq and $500 a month food stamps courtesy of California, they seem to be living high on the hog. Somewhere in the vicinity of a monthly income near $14,000 is nothing to sneeze at. Add to $14,000 per month a yet undetermined factor. The possibility at grandmother’s age she has qualifyed for SS benefits plus Medicare A and B. One could go so far as to question if grandpa files in the U.S. or if anyone files at all. Whatever the case be, far from being classed as LOW INCOME.