Octuplets' mother 'obsessed with children'

Nadya Suleman’s goal in life was to be a mother, her friends and family said.

That is why, even with a brood of six including 2-year-old twins, she decided to have more embryos transferred, in hopes, her mother said Friday, of getting “just one more girl.”

“And look what happened. Octuplets. Dear God,” said Angela Suleman, four days after her 33-year-old daughter became only the second person in the U.S. ever to give birth to eight babies at once. Suleman stressed that her daughter “is not evil, but she is obsessed with children. She loves children, she is very good with children, but obviously she overdid herself.”

Angela Suleman said all the children are from the same sperm donor, but she did not identify him. Her daughter is divorced, but Suleman said the ex-husband was not the father.

The grandmother, who is caring for her daugther’s six children while Nadya is in the hospital, said she did not have many details about the medical procedures that led to her grandchildren being conceived.

She said she did not know the identity of the doctor or clinic that transferred the frozen embryos into her daughter’s uterus. She emphasized that it was not Kaiser Permanente, where the babies were born.

Fertility experts, including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, have raised concerns about the number of embryos implanted and whether it was within medical guidelines.

"I cannot see circumstances where any reasonable physician would transfer [so many] embryos into a woman under the age of 35 under any circumstance," said Arthur Wisot, a fertility doctor in Redondo Beach and the author of "Conceptions and Misconceptions."

--Jessica Garrison and Kimi Yoshino

Read more at latimes.com: Octuplets' mom was hoping for 'just one more girl,' grandmother says

Comments

[Patrick]

Honestly I guess I'm happy she loves kids, but it should just be illegal for somebody who has more than two healthy kids to get fertility treatment. We have enough people on this planet already, and there are children all over the world in need of parents. This is simply crazy irresponsible of all involved.

[virgi]

Gee, I wonder who is going to really pay for all those kids...the taxpayer, in education, aid, and a bunch of other handouts. Absolutely ridiculous

[Betty Bee]

This woman has six children; divorced; no income; lives with her parents in a three bedroom house and STILL her doctor implanted fertile embryos into her ????? WHAT?????? No doubt about who will be paying for their care-- YOU, the tax payer.

[Betty Bee]

This woman has six children; divorced; no income; lives with her parents in a three bedroom house and STILL her doctor implanted fertile embryos into her ????? WHAT?????? No doubt about who will be paying for their care-- YOU, the tax payer.

[anonymousposter]

She'll get handouts and make money off of TV and maybe even a Lifetime movie. This is disgusting. I seriously question the ethics of the medical professionals who facilitated it.

[Don Keedic]

Another Non-white immigrant who will do whatever she wants to do because it is her "right" to do it as long as the taxpayers pick up the tab. She is not married, has no job, almost $1,000,000 in debt, lives with her parents with her other SIX KIDS and somehow we are to support her reckless decision? Send them all packing.

[Hilda]

My GOD - What kind of person would want to do such a selfish act. In wanting to try again for another girl? What mental state could she be. Not much maturity . Didn't she think about the cost it would be on the children . Especially if she's bring children into this world without a true father figure. Doesn't she think about it in there future. Since her father looks like he's in his late 50's +. The cost will it be all on us taxpayers- WIC , Food Stamps, Education, Medical &etc. Unless some of them get cut off with the budget cuts.
I hope that she's able to find a network - TLC , Discovery that will want to show her ordeal at least for the children's sake - $$$ . They are going to need it. I just can't imagine what that tiny house they will all be living in . And the loneliness the children will feel - All children need individual attention . Come on.. I remember feeling left out sometimes having 2 other siblings . Think about real emotional, physical issues.
And the grandfather relying on going back to IRAQ for contract work. Didn't the daughter think about - maybe my something happiens to him. GOD FORBID. Since those children depend on him $$ and emotionally.

[Ann Andrews]

They don't stay babies forever. Eight without a father? Are you kidding? Who pays for them now? Honestly, the more I know about this woman, the more unstable she seems. Keep an eye on these people, Child Services. Something tells me they will be removing them soon enough, when they stop being cute, and start being kids. Fourteen children, even with a nanny, grandmother, and mom, is STILL illegal in California if you run a daycare center! The rules are there for a reason. Children thrive best when there are adequate hands to nurture them. This grandmother seems totally at the mercy of her daughter, and the grandfather goes to Iraq to help pay for his daughter's actions. What happens when there is no job to go to in Iraq? What contracting job pays like that here? If he could make that kind of money in the US, he would already be earning it here. I guess if my house had been taken over by a sociopathic daughter and a radically co-dependent wife, I would be getting out of Dodge too. And stop asking for privacy. You gave that up when you decided it was better to say "yes" to YOUR kid every chance you got, instead of learning that one little word at every parent's disposal, NO. Pathetic. Enjoy being broke. Then enjoy watching them take your grandkids when it becomes obvious they can't get the care they need in your crackerbox house. Here is a radical idea: your kids grow up, and they pay for their actions. Try it on for size. I think you will find that giving kids independence is a gift, not a burden. And if hard choices come with that independence, well, you learn more from your mistakes than from victories sometimes. Hard choices do not mean you do not make them.
By the way, Jesus freaks, the bible also says to count the cost of any action you take BEFORE you take it. It does not say you are entitled to ANYTHING you want, at any time that you want. God is not your personal fairy godmother. And if you choose the action, you choose the consequences, including having to decide to abort children you KNOW you will not be able to support financially, emotionally, or physically. Especially if you run outside the lines and go to a sperm donor, instead of getting married. Hell, if you go to a clinic at all, you are kind of taking God out of it, all things considered. I guess science is OK, as long as it makes more Christians!

[mario]

why judge a person in this case a woman with 8 babys,they are allready here in this world why insted of saying,why she decide to have moore if she allready have six,to wish her good things and for the babys the best,all what I been lsening in the radio and tv news is "oh"what a craisy woman how she is going to feed them ,here in salt lake city,los angeles or in the mexican news are the same coments come on borne in this crisis time this babys have e

[daniel]

Child Protective Services needs to take all of her children away. She is obviously mentally disturbed and a danger to those children.

[Mike]

This reminds me of "animal hoarders," people who keep getting more and more animals. This woman is clearly a child hoarder. Never mind eight children, wanting "one more girl" when you already have six is not a reason to seek infertility treatment. What did she think "one more girl" was going to give her? Maybe she should learn to focus her attention on the kids she already has. Those poor kids, with a mother in a psychological state like that I'm sure they are receiving poor emotional care.

She wasn't willing to selectively reduce embryos? Anyone who asks for eight embryos should be. This should probably be a law.

[scout]

This woman is mentally ill and those doctors are incredibly negligent to implant 8 embryos into a 33 year old single woman who already has 6 young children without a father!!

She may not be on Welfare now but give her another year (to get out of the public spotlight) and she'll surely be draining an incredible amount of money out of the already deflated Welfare System

There are so many young children throughout the world without parents and she's intentionally adding 14 fatherless children to this already overpopulated world. It's sick and extremely selfish!!

[lynne]

She's obviously mentally ill. Obsession with the mechanics of the birthing process and the feeling it gives her is not normal. Children deserve consideration as individuals - they are not intended as a convenience or device for a parent to live out her personal fantasy. No father, no love, no responsibility and commitment to another reduced this so-called "miracle" to that of breeding livestock. The satiation of narcissistic desire is endemic in our country, from the obsession of billion dollar bonuses by bankrupt bank executives bailed-out by citizens to this one woman's personal quest to reduce the miracle of life to a factory. It's not just about the money - it is about what our society has become. We need to push back on this insanity, whether it is in the delivery room or the Board room.

[Fined for Littering]

This woman is mentally ill, and the doctors who gave her the fertility treatments should be jailed for negligence. You will never find a better example of how greedy and cynical the medical system has become.

[erin]

well, now you've named her. great work LA times. because obviously this person needed tons of opinionated jerks at her doorstep.

14 kids is a bad idea, but privacy is a good idea.

[LJ]

I think the key word here is "obsessed". Not a good thing. Seems like mom is coming around to discovering she'd better do a bit of damage control. Her daughter sounds truly unbalanced(as if there was any doubt), and in any scenario it's doubtful these children can be adequately cared for by this serial pregnancy addict. I hope someone can intervene and get them some help. They need it.

[sam]

Here it is again. Will she ever work outside the home? Of course not. We, the public will be paying for her kids. Welfare City Forever. Her tubes should have been tied after her last pregnancy!

[Be Responsible]

If she loved kids so much, she should have gotten a job working with kids to support her 6 kids!

[Sergey Vedernikov]

That's just beyond the common sense!!!!!!!! She cannot bring up all her children! It's just irresponsible!

[richard]

it is a crime !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to have that many babies yet alone having six already.. who in the helll is going to pay for those kids, welfare and wic programs? everyone i see at kasier were happpy in the interwiew because it means money in their pockets. I only have one kid and i am hispanic and we are known to put babies in this world just to say in the usa. However it makes me very angry that i have to pay for them and the people who have kids to say here thru welfare. i work hard to earn my money and it is a shame that i can't enjoy some of it because of the irrersponsible people and angry at the government for not setting a limit to how many kids you can have on welfore. two is enough to be on welfare. after that no more welfare checks point blank no matter how many kids you have thereafter. U have to be responsible for your own actions... believe it or not welfare was not intented for all people it was intended for military wives while their husbands were at war. look it up u be surprize... Now who is going to tell these people who has 14 kids to go back to where they came from. I am sure the american people taxpayers don't want to pay for kiids that are not theirs... Let seee how kasier handle the cost of taking care of all those babies who may need special care because of protental health problems. please don't send them to the county hospitals. send them to native home land

[Charlene]

All the above comments are right on target. The only thing I can add is that I think what this woman did is obscene. To the medical profession: Shame on you. You should be policing yourselves. Irresponsibiity all around.

Lilove

[Enough of The ANCHORBabies]

MORE anchor babies for California citizens to support on WELFARE. California is broke right, because of it's stupid laws with a State government now controlled by grown anchor babies.

Who needed a War to be over run...our worst enemies were our politicians. They have destroyed the greatest State in the Union with a rabid influx of THIRD WORLD illegal and legal immigrants chalk full of thieves, liars, murders, gangs, drug dealers, child molesters, rapists...you get the picture.

California TODAY, the rest of America tomorrow.

We can than BOTH political parties, but especially the Democrats...and I am an X Democrat!

[Joe]

Part of the reason I left the U.S.A and California two years ago, and haven't looked back since. The level of irresponsibility borders on criminal negligence, seriously...charges should be brought. Actually, It's not just the welfare costs involved.....it's all the other unseen costs incurred by everyone else, ie. the teacher who has to deal her childrens behavioral problems, the police officer who has to do the same, and perhaps "the incarceration?!" The one consistent theme I see in the previous comments is there is "no father." The one common variable I saw in all the children with behavioral problems as an educator (12 years)....was suprise! No father.Rant Over.
I'm going to go back to not paying taxes for this woman in the foreign country I live

[Janet]

Raise your hand if you are perfect and there is not a single thing wrong with you? Hmmm...I don't see any hands up. As an American Taxpayer, I don't mind paying for kids who are being loved and cared for by the family. This world needs more love not hate.

[drjohn]

The doctors who did this should be stripped of their licenses, or be made to pay support for these children.

This is an abomination. 14 children with no means of support or care.

Irresponsible doesn't begin to describe this.