It was a different kind of story in the news when Nadya Suleman gave birth to eight babies consecutively. Giving birth to octuplets is very unusual and, at the time, she and her husband were separated. What made it even shocking is her husband later revealed that their relationship faltered after failing to have children! What you will see now is another story of hope, of not giving up, and believing there are infinite possibilities as long as you’re still alive (and maybe with some money set aside). News about Nadya made news worldwide, and until now, many are still fascinated by how one woman could take care of that many children all at the same time! Let’s find begin.
Starting Anew
Back in 1996, Nadya Suleman’s life was going all so well, at the same time, she married Marcos Gutierrez. They seemed ready for a family with their joint bank accounts and all, and both of them wanted to have kids right away. They were both excited as they were just about to start a new chapter in their life. After the wedding, they were following a schedule that seemed perfect for both of them. Until one day, an unfortunate news came that they certainly did not expect.
Heartbreaking News
They tried repeatedly for months to conceive, but nothing happened. The couple concluded that they needed assistance from the experts. Unhappily, doctors discovered that Marcos was infertile. In their case, there were other ways to become pregnant, but when they talked about the matter, it became hot squabbles. Every time Nadya mentioned in vitro fertilization (IVF), Marcus would go off the deep end. The thought of it vexed him so much he wanted only two options: if the IVF won't go, he will.
Left Alone
It was a tough call. Suleman cared for Marcos, but her desire to become a mother was just too powerful to ignore. The decision was a difficult one to take, but she concluded that the union between her and her spouse should come to an end. Hence, after perhaps figuring out how to now separate their personal finances, the two went their individual ways in 2000. Suleman then immediately began IVF treatments. However, the road ahead wasn't going to be easy.
It Was The Better Choice
Fortunately, medical breakthrough makes it possible for women to conceive through interventions. IVF is among the most sought-out methods for persons who are unable to have children in the traditional way, because of medical issues. The procedure makes potential parents' fantasy a reality. A doctor aides in the process of getting egg and sperm to meet externally before being injected into the female human body. Needless to say, the entire process would require having some savings in the bank.
The How
This is the method for IVF. Initially, several eggs are taken from the woman. The eggs are whole, and so fertilization can take place. But first screening is done prior to mixing them with sperm, so as to single out the ones that are in good condition and suitable. Doctors strain the top grade eggs, adding sperm to these. After the reproductive cells meet, the resulting embryo is re-introduced into the womb for it to develop as any regular fetus would. Because of the delicate process and its intended outcome, specialists rake in hefty earnings.
The More The Merrier
Different from a natural pregnancy, an IVF isn't carried out using a single sperm for a single egg. The reason is that under test tube conditions, a single egg might not be sufficient for success. IVF takes place outside the body, and then the fertilized egg is placed inside the woman. Therefore, doctors use a cluster of eggs during the method to improve the chances. The odds of a single egg being favorably inseminated are thereby increased. The greater the number of eggs, the better the chances of a successful coupling.
She Knew The Risk
Nadya had no desire to do the costly IVF ministrations, with a probability of them not working. The result would be depleting her bank account and still not conceiving. Therefore, she discussed inserting several inseminated eggs into her womb with the doctor. Her doctor distinctly cautioned her that doing IVF like this can result in more than one babies (two at the minimum). In her ardent desire to become a mom and considering that she had ended her marriage, she went forward.
Started Off Normal
Tidings of gold - Nadya was formally declared to be with child! At the start, everything was the norm - only singleton pregnancies. She birthed a male in '01, then in '02 under IVF procedure, she birthed a female. She underwent multiple impregnations one time, producing two fraternal babies. In total, she had six kids this way by the time it got to 2008. Her doctor froze several of Nadya's eggs in the event she happened to wish to give birth again. But as she'd already gotten six, he figured he wouldn't be seeing her in the future.
Lucky Number Fourteen
Nadya realized that something had altered her life and launched her into worldwide focus. Yes, she was very busy bringing up six children, but she returned to the doctor to utilize the remaining frozen eggs. On this occasion, the doctor's caution about possibly having several children via IVF became a prophecy. She became pregnant once more via IVF, but on this occasion, with eight babies! Similar to a set of puppies, eight fetuses were developing inside her uterus! If she had any financial planner at the time, he or she would've walked out!
Week Of Doom
Nadya ate a lot and expanded massively after a number of months with eight babies growing inside her. Medically, the probability of surviving "doom week," let alone birthing eight babies, is almost zero. The doctors give this label to week one of the lives of octuplets, as they tend to, unfortunately, die. But all of Nadya's babies proved to be tougher than expected, and they're all healthy! Forget about needing a student loan to send them all to college - Nadia was just a happy new mom of eight!
Weird Phenomenon
Word soon got out about Nadya's healthy eight fetuses, since the unequaled pregnancy became news in the most accepted medical magazines. Huge excitement erupted, since new developments in science and technology concerning reproduction, could be achieved by analyzing her case. There were, however, those not happy with the news. California State suggested that some type of behavior might not be above board, because a typical worst-case result of IVF is a maximum of three babies. Eight fetuses are quite uncommon, even with IVF.
Investigation Starts
As soon as the authorities found Nadya’s uncommon case, they started investigating her physician, Dr. Michael Kamrava. To their surprise, they found out that Dr. Kamrave implanted twelve eggs (more than the required number.) inside her womb. This was a very odd case, as Kamrava should have lessened the number of eggs especially for Nadya who already gave birth to six children. According to the State of California, it was a negligence on his part and had caused his license to be revoked (and earnings lost).
Digging Deeper
The investigators weren’t satisfied with that have found out, making them look deeper into the Kamrave’s files. More shocking information was revealed as they found out he was conducting treatments not advised by any doctors in the community of reproductive medicine. One case they saw was that of a woman in her late ‘40s and Kamrave implanted seven embryos, leading to a difficult pregnancy. As for Nadya, it wasn’t complications that followed her pregnancy but fourteen children, including the six children she had before the octuplets.
Growing Attention
What happened to Dr. Kamrave served as a warning to practitioners administering the same treatment. Now, fertility doctors are expected to implant only two embryos for women below age 35. As soon as Nadya took her eight children home, it’s not just her six children that waited for her. Outside were media crew that were eager to get an interview with her. Confused about what to do, she decided to use some of her money to hire Killeen Furtney, a PR person to help her handle the media craze.
Where the Outrage Stems From
Women that undergo an IVF treatment fail most of the time in producing children, which was simply not the case with Nadya after several tries. Differing opinions about her situation arose - some were supportive while most saw it as a mere publicity stunt. Hiring a PR immediately gave everyone a chance to re-evaluate Nadya's predicament, gaining her quite the fame in the process. Perhaps, it was her way of making money to support the fourteen children in her home - no one can really say for sure.
Single Mother of 14 Kids
Having 14 kids in your household may be possible for someone getting fat paychecks. However, for Suleman, she was not just a single mother but a woman who was still going to school. This even added more speculation and suspicion about why she conceived her children. Suleman kept on denying the allegations while some still insisted that she would just rely on public assistance. In an interview with Dr. Phil, Attorney Gloria Allred presented a series of complaints on the show, regarding Suleman’s parenting abilities.
Receiving A Number of Death Threats
Killeen Furtney Group may have been in the industry for decades, however, they were now faced with a tough decision on Suleman’s case. Despite being an award-winning PR firm, they started receiving death threats that were directed to Nadya Suleman. Joan Killeen, president of the PR firm, now had second thoughts about keeping Nadya as their client. While Nadya still has some funds in her account to pay for the PR firm, they chose to let her go for their personal safety.
Threats Go On
Since Nadya didn’t have any email service, the emails went directly to the PR firm. The threats went on and the Killeen Furtney Group decided to take the threats out into the public. In a Larry King Live episode, President Joann Killeen unraveled the threats they were receiving aimed at their client Nadya. Some wrote in their threats that Nadya should be put down, her uterus must be pulled out, and that she must be banished to an island.
Real-Life Violence Starts
The threats that were sent to the PR firm didn’t stop. Some angry people found out where Nadya and her kids lived, and they all gathered outside as they waited for her arrival. At the time, Nadya was on her way home along with her seventh kid. When they saw Nadya arrive, the group became very violent to the point that it scared Nadya and her kid, and when she tried to get past them, one of them decided to break her car window. We don't know though if she had auto insurance...
Jealousy & Hate is Growing
If you come to think of it, the hate and rage directed towards Suleman started to become disturbing. Instead of sending in their congratulations, they sent out angry remarks and threats. Where did it all come from? As you can see, several women had tried their luck with IVF treatments (which are heavy on one's personal finances), however, they haven't found any luck in conceiving. These women started becoming jealous as they saw that the IVF worked for Suleman and it just worsened their misery and desperation.
Taxpayers Demand Their Fair Share
Aside from the jealousy, another reason behind the rage of the public is the support she’s getting from the government. Joan Killeen revealed that the group of protesters were angry because she was receiving state disability support. News also came out that she was looking for a new career while going to school. At the same time, the child support she’s been receiving is just unacceptable for some taxpayers and they wanted to get their fair share when it comes to government services, more so for those who need the help and money.
Finding A New Career
In 2012, Nadya starred in the film Octomom Home Alone. The adult film didn’t have any other actors, only her. She also started releasing some music and has made an appearance in a music video. However, she also had to check into a treatment center after suffering from severe stress. The problems went on as the jobs she had resulted in criminal charges after failing to disclose her $30K earnings from the film and dancing. For this offense, she rendered 200 hours of community service and a two-year probation, then paid a fine.
Life As A Mother of 14 Kids
The public outrage stirred so much emotion for Nadya. At the same time, she was tending to 14 children all at once. She lacked sleep, and according to an interview, she only gets two to three hours of sleep every night. It was a very tough moment for Nadya, as she took care of eight kids without any partner. Still, despite the anxiety of it all, she proved to be strong and according to her, she would continue moving forward and try to be the best mother that she can be.
Motherhood or Fame?
Many people found Nadya’s situation absurd. According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture, raising one child costs $233.61K annually for a middle-class married couple. Now, imagine taking care of 14 at the same time being a single mother - it would certainly break the bank!. Aside from that, she was also pursuing her Master’s degree which led everyone to the fact that it was impossible for her to take care of all 14. These further led to the conclusion that Nadya only wanted to be in the limelight.
Welfare & Bankruptcy
Just like what many had predicted, after a couple of years, Suleman began having difficulty in supporting all of her children. At that time, she was already receiving assistance from the State of California for her 14 children. However, she still declared bankruptcy and has reported a debt of over $1 million. Some have even tried reporting her negligence but when the child protective services took the matters into their hands, they found the opposite. In fact, all of the children were very happy and healthy; it was just their environment that was not tidy.
Starting Again, Alone
When the media attention began to wane, the task of taking care of fourteen kids seemed easier. However, as time went by, it became too much for her to handle and it started to get out of hand. She didn’t have funds in her bank account anymore, at the same time, she had to apply for welfare to feed the kids. As soon as she made headlines again, people were in a rush to say that they told her so from the very beginning.
The Vegan Mom & Kids
During an interview again with Nadya, who is now Natalie, journalists noticed the diet the family was following. She and her kids are now on a strict vegan diet, which meant they could no longer eat meat, eggs, cheese or anything that came from animals who suffered. For one of the children’s birthday parties, Natalie bought pizza with no cheese and had veggies as snacks. Fortunately, the kids seem to love their diet.
The Nickname She Didn’t Love
Nadya Suleman aka Natalie didn’t just change her name on her birth certificate; she was also called the “Octomom." However, Natalie didn’t like this nickname and according to her, she didn’t even coin the term Octomom. She just went along with it as it was used by the tabloids. She claimed that she only embraced it out of her financial desperation and embraced the name to simply provide for her kids (of course that monicker gets her attention and sponsorships).
The Life With 14 Kids & Its Struggles
Natalie had the chance to appear on the talk show The Doctors where she discussed her life before and how she was able to manage to move on. She revealed her mistakes in the past, including her Xanax addiction and financial problems. She recalled how in 2014, she was already facing four criminal charges. Fortunately, she decided to wake up and go to rehab to become a good mother to her children, she also got a job to support them. She has appeared in shows like The Doctors and Dr. Oz to tell her story.
The Grown-Up Octuplets & Six Children
The life of struggle didn’t last long for Natalie and the fourteen children are now all-grown-up. In fact, the octuplets are now nine years old. Natalie chose to leave the spotlight in 2013 but still manages to share glimpses of her life on Instagram. Now, she has a job that pays a decent salary to support all of her children. In an interview with Little Things, Suleman claimed that she would not trade her kids for anything in the world.