Octuplets born in Bellflower [UPDATED]

A woman has given birth to octuplets at a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Bellflower, hospital officials confirmed today.

Updated at 5:10 p.m.:  Two physicians who helped in the deliveries said they had planned in advance for the C-section deliveries but were expecting only seven babies. They got six boys and two girls.

“My eyes got to be the size of saucers,” Dr. Karen Maples said, when it became obvious there was an eighth child. “We just went on and delivered the babies.”

“The orchestrated delivery went off without a hitch,” added Dr. Harold Henry. “The babies are all doing well and the mom is also doing well. There were no complications from the surgery, to the best of my knowledge.”

Henry said that hospital physicians and their assistants practiced two dry runs ahead of time.  “We planned well, and it was well executed,” he said.

Maples said 46 people were involved in the deliveries.

“It was exciting, a little anxious,” she said. “But we were prepared.” She said the mother should be released in a week but that the babies would probably remain in the hospital for at least two months.

The six boys and two girls were born between 10:43 a.m. and 10:48 a.m, the doctors said. The babies each weighed between 1 pound and 15 ounces to 3 pounds and 4 ounces, the physicians said.

Updated at 5:50 p.m.: Dr. Richard Paulson, director of the fertility program at the USC Medical School, called the event “unbelievably rare. When people use fertility drugs, 80% even then are single births. The vast majority of the others are twins.”

Still, fertility experts consider the birth of more than two kids with fertility medication to be not a medical triumph, but “a serious complication,” Paulson said. “We do not ever intend to give someone octuplets.”

Usually, he said, births of this kind are brought on by fertility medication, not in-vitro fertilization. Often, during the medication, several of the mother’s eggs are fertilized. In most cases, Paulson said, the mother chooses to reduce the number of fertile eggs to two, “to make sure the two remaining babies will have the best chance at having good health. To have all those babies, the mother would choose to have selective reduction. Apparently the mother made the decision to carry all the eight babies to viability.”

Updated at 7:20 p.m.:

At a Monday evening news conference, the team leaders -- Maples, Henry, and Dr. Mandhir Gupta -- beamed like new parents. “It was a truly, truly amazing delivery,” Maples said. “We have been talking about this delivery for weeks on end. That’s why when we discovered the eighth, we were so well prepared.” The doctors will do predawn interviews today with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’ “Morning Show,” NBC’s “Today” show and CNN. The doctors said the children, born nine weeks  premature, were in incubators in stable condition, as was their mother. The two girls and six boys weighed between 1 pound, 8 ounces and 3 pounds, 4 ounces. Five of the infants are breathing on their own. One has needed some help breathing, while two are attached to respirators.

KCAL Channel 9 reported that the babies were born today and quoted a doctor as saying they were “doing quite well.”

In 1998, the first known set of octuplets was born in the United States. The six girls and two boys were born in Houston. One of the babies later died. The others survived and recently celebrated their 10th birthdays.

Read the full Times story about the octuplets.

-- Sam Quinones, Jeff Gottlieb and Carlos V. Lozano

Comments

[Mary]

Congrats to the mom and little angels.
After following this story and seeing so many people upset about the octupletsm maybe it's time the world takes another view.
Many of us, on this earth don't have children, nor do we want any.
Wouldn't it be a good idea to support people like this mom that want to raise children in a loving home, rather than some having children they don't want.
I say let's respect and help this lady.

The world may be taking on a new twist, and reach out to help her, instead of complaining. She's willing to raise them.

[Lilly S.]

To the last posting above are you out of your mind. How in the world can you say "After following this story and seeing so many people upset about the octupletsm maybe it's time the world takes another view." She already has six kids, single mother, discusting dirty home. You can tell these kids are not taken care of...Yet alone bring an additional 8 more children. Have you stopped and think of all the homeless and abandoned children? If she wanted 8 more children why not become a foster mom????

[P Johnson]

I'm glad the babies "appear" to be healthy. I believe that this was a POOR choice on the womans part to bring in more babies that she can physically and financially care for on her own.

It was a poor choice on the IVF doctor as well! Neither one of them should get a DIME.

I hope that the woman will be required to pay back every cent that it costs her to have these children and to NOT RELY ON THE HUMANITY OF THE TAX PAYERS. If she is looking for a book deal, I hope it is written in the contract that she does not get ONE PENNY, but rather a trust is set up for her children and al of the money be distributed to them (all 14) equally when they turn 18.

It's a shame people are so selfish.

[LeftCoastMom]

2/13/09 @10:07AM Mary wrote:
"Congrats to the mom and little angels.
Wouldn't it be a good idea to support people like this mom that want to raise children in a loving home, rather than some having children they don't want.
I say let's respect and help this lady.
The world may be taking on a new twist, and reach out to help her, instead of complaining. She's willing to raise them."

respectively snipped

Mary, the problem people are having being supportive of Ms Suleman is her apparent inability to support and care for the 6 children she already had at home. It isn't loving or responsible to intentionally get pregnant with babies you can't afford to feed, clothe or house. It isn't loving or responsible or smart even, to implant 6 healthy embryos into the uterus of a 30ish y.o. woman who has already achieved 6 baby's from 5 pregnancies after 5 IVF's. Lying to your parents after IVF, telling them you have a tumor instead of an obvious pregnancy, while they are supporting you and your 6 children is not loving. Letting your parents spend every last dime on you and your children while you spend thousands of dollars your parents know nothing about is not loving. These things are incredibly selfish.

There is nothing loving or responsible about giving birth to 14 babies then expecting other people to care for them and financially support them while you run around, promoting yourself. Getting your nails done and buying cosmetics that cost about the same as a weeks worth of groceries.

There are times in our lives when love is all we need. Raising 14 children is not one of those times.

[Anita]

what people can't seem to understand is, this is not a miracle from GOD, how can anyone even say that; she had them implanted, she decided she was going to play GOD, she decided that 6 was not enough for her parents to take care of, she does not have a daddy for not even one of her babies, let alone all 14, she has no job, three of her children already have medical problems, (which are on disability) lives with her ageing mother, they live in a three bedroom home, where are they all sleeping now let alone what is going to happen when the babies are released from the hospital, which will be any day now,

I feel taking these babies away would be the best thing only if they can keep all these babies together, why should these children suffer for their irresponsible mother, and the doctors who helped this poor sick demented women through this to begin with, you can't tell me the doctors had no idea this women was off her rocker a little.

what is this world coming to? we have people who would give both their arms for a baby, and we have doctors who are just out for a buck, and will give any idiot 8 babies.

this is where you can include GOD, when you say GOD HELP US ALL

[James]

well having so many kids and having the government to support with alot of tax money that is not fair for the rest of people well i should tell my wife to have 8 to then i get all the money i need also a house maybe for free well ts worth a try i wanna have 8 kids to get free money

[Delvarious]

Im almost ashamed to be called an American. We're quick to point the finger when three are pointing right back at us. It's easy for us to judge and crticize someone else, but when it falls on us its a whole new perspective. America was founded on a set of principles called the English Bill of Right which this woman has not violated. Who are we to say she can't have how ever many kids she wants despite her not having a husband, job, place to stay. We are humans and we make mistakes and part of making us wiser is learning from a mistakes but for us to judge another person on their flaws is absurd and you need to look in the mirror and see if your perfect because if i do believe the only person who is was the lord himself.

[Bacon]

2 million for going on Oprah! Im going to have 14 babies too and watch the whole world send me money and build me a new house. Why did I even go to school? I just needed to have babies! If she can do it so can I. Watch out, I'm going to have 9 babies at once! See you on Oprah!

[SUSIE]

WHILE I SET AND LOOK AROUND WHATS GOING ON WITH THIS PLANET I CAN'T EVEN TO BEGIN TO SAY GOOD LUCK WITH EIGHT, I DON'T BELIEVE IN TAKING A LIFE BUT I DO BELIEVE GOD GIVES LIFE AND IF IT WAS HIS WILL FOR YOU TO HAVE CHILDREN THEN YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO HAVE TAKEN AND DRUG OR HAVE ANYTHING DONE TO YOU THAT WASN'T NATURAL,BUT I'LL STILL SAY GOD BLESS THE LITTLE ONES FOR ITS NOT THEIR ACTION THAT CAUSE THEM TO BE HERE BUT THERE PARENTS.