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Relationships | 02/02/2009 11:00 am

Octuplet Mother Nadya Suleman Pushes Story on Oprah

By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Here’s one way to pay for all those diapers! Nadya Suleman, the 33-year-old mother of six who last week birthed octuplets, reportedly wants Oprah Winfrey or Diane Sawyer to shell out $2 million for an interview — and eventually she wants to earn big bucks as a talking head on television as an authority on child care.

Oprah, Diane and Katie may, in fact, be lining up to interview the baby-crazed mama, but apparently no one’s told her that journalists don’t typically pay for interviews. And after all the news that’s come out about Suleman, it’s even less likely.

What’s raising all those eyebrows? First of all, some are concerned that Suleman is single. She already has six children under the age of seven and has no visible means of support. Her parents, Angela and Ed Suleman, bought her a two-bedroom house in March 2007, but after they went bust, they moved in with her and the kids. Even her mother has run out of patience, saying "[She] is not evil, but she is obsessed with children. She loves children, she is very good with children, but obviously she overdid herself." Talk about an understatement!

Then there are the medical issues. Why did doctors transfer eight embryos in the first place? The American Society for Reproductive Medicine frowns upon implanting more than two or three embryos at a time and has started an investigation into the case. The group’s president, R. Dale McClure, remarked:

At this point, we do not know the circumstances surrounding the conception of these children and what, if any, medical treatments were involved. If this resulted from an IVF treatment, we can say that transferring eight embryos in an IVF cycle is well beyond our guidelines.

One thing we know for sure: having a brood of 14 kids under the age of seven definitely will make her either a child-care expert, or it will drive her very crazy very quickly.

144 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Lila Kuh
There was a time not so long ago when responsible, loving mothers who realized they could not care for their children would put them up for adoption through reputable agencies. The decision had to be a horrible one for the mothers… it was irrevocable and they would never see or hear of their babies again… but they made these tremendous sacrifices out of real love for their children and a desire for them to have a better life. This episode is quite the opposite: a mother going to any means to produce as many children as possible, while saddling others with their support. I will wager that even two parents could not provide adequate attention to 14 very young children; consider that the parents of the only other live-born set of octuplets described an army of volunteers who got them through the initial stages of raising the seven survivors. This is not normal or desirable! Consider, too, that one of them is autistic, a full-time proposition in itself — much less all the things that children need to grow into successful and well-adjusted adults. As for her supposed degree in child development? The only credible thing she can possibly say is, “don’t do what I did.”
By Lila Kuh on 02/03/2009 8:55 am
Kim Graves
ok i am presently going through my very first IVF cycle…they’ll be doing egg retrieval this week and my doctor has already told me that the most any IVF clinic will transfer is 4 and if all 4 were to take that I would have to get a reduction due to my body size…i’m not happy about the term “reduction” and of course if all 4 were to take i would see my regular OBGYN first to ask what my options are….also, in some states it is mandated that IVF be covered and in NJ my husbands insurance covers 4 cycles per lifetime of the policy. medication is the most expensive part…about $6000 per cycle or more…the total of the IVF is about $12000 plus per cycle…(month) I cannot believe that this woman had the IVF done in this country….maybe she went out of the country, i thought i had heard that she worked at a clinic or knew someone very well at the clinic…maybe she did this mostly for the money…she will live free and people will donate their time and money and companies will donate products….this a multi-million dollar litter of children…i feel so badly for the children…but i guess the only way to say it is that i think this was premeditated…in the hopes of a situation just like this so she will never have to work…
By Kim Graves on 02/03/2009 9:59 am
angelica serrano
Yup, that’s her name, Nadya. I don’t know if the last name is Gutierrez or Suleman. I don’t know where the Gutierrez comes from, and I doubt that’s her married name. I suspect that this woman is not the biological daughter of Angela and Ed Suleman. Also, I think she might have a MySpace page. I entered some identifying data and got 3 results. One of them seems to match very closely. It’s just a speculation on my part, though.
By angelica serrano on 02/03/2009 2:42 pm
Kunt Punter
This comment has been deleted as it violated the Ten Commandments of Posting on our website.
By Kunt Punter on 02/03/2009 8:51 pm
mary Johnson
The only thing filthy is the language used in the post by Punter on 02/03/2009 posted ay 9:51PM. Can it please be removed. It is insulting to all women!
By mary Johnson on 02/04/2009 12:29 am
Kunt Punter
This comment has been deleted as it violated the Ten Commandments of Posting on our website.
By Kunt Punter on 02/04/2009 1:31 am
dave mdave
Michael Jackson is obsessed with children too but they would never let him have any authority on child care. How many kids do you think she would like to have one day? How many can she afford? Nadya Suleman must have been pregnant right after she got out of diapers.
By dave mdave on 02/04/2009 11:07 am
Heather Patterson
Even though this woman seems crazy for subjecting herself to having 8 babies, I find it hard to believe that she was doing it for money. I mean, she knew what it was like to take care of 6, she had to know what it would be like with 8 more. Who knows what the conversation was between her and the doctor. Sure, the doctor is obviously not qualified and is a quack. Maybe they didn’t expect all 8 embryos to successfully develop and survive. Call it poor planning, call it craziness…but I think there is more to the story than we are led to believe.
By Heather Patterson on 02/04/2009 11:49 pm
Lila Kuh
Actually I think her mom was really the one taking care of the first six while Nadya was in college. So no, I don’t think she really knows what’s involved in REAL child care. Notice the mom’s remark in some articles saying when Nadya gets home, “I’ll be gone.” Sounds like Mom is at the end of her rope.
By Lila Kuh on 02/05/2009 10:48 am
C Johnson
I definitely feel sorry for her children but I believe there is more to her problems then just using her fourteen kids for fame and money; or am I just stating the obvious that should not be ignored?
By C Johnson on 02/06/2009 8:18 am
Andromeda Jakes
I just hope the city or state where these children live will monitor the health and well being of these children on a regular and meaningful basis. There is something wrong here with the mother and those that enable her including the doctors. But I guess they got paid well —now this woman wants to be paid? So very disturbing.
By Andromeda Jakes on 02/06/2009 3:33 pm
andrea jean martin
This 33 year old single woman is unemployed, has 6 fatherless children (one of whom has autism), lives with her bankrupt parents and decides that she wants another 8 fatherless children to fulfill her life. What a selfish and immature woman!!! Who’s going to pay for these 14 children, the bankrupt grandparents???? No, taxpayers like you and I. Though public records show that Nadya Suleman was on the payroll at Metropolitan State Hospital until last year, it appears that she did little work (if any) after September 1999 due to a workman’s compensation injury (back injury and psychiatric condition) in which she’s received up to $165,000 in compensation. She filed an additional claim for worker’s compensation for a separate car accident in which she argued that this car accident wouldn’t have occurred had she not been going for medical treatment for the earlier worker’s comp. injury. Apparently Nadya Suleman knows how to “work” the system and will have no trouble finding the funds to support her large family and stupid decisions for the next 18+ years. Andrea
By andrea jean martin on 02/06/2009 7:07 pm
Lauren  Webster
Rather than pay for an interview with an imbalanced woman who treats reproduction as though it’s a pay-per-view spectator sport, I can’t help but wonder whether 60 MINUTES or OPRAH might make a better investment to investigate this story. How does an out-of-work woman muster up the funds for repeated IVF treatments. Who’s the doctor? And for the record, this woman’s claims that she loves all her children unconditionally is hogwash. You don’t love children you bring irresponsibly into the world without any basis upon which to provide for their care, education and welfare.
By Lauren Webster on 02/07/2009 3:54 am
Rena Jean
Now we have reproductive “problems” ?…no - what we have are people who don’t think right problems. You are in charge of your body, if you use it incorrectly - things happen. Eat too much - get fat, take drugs - get stupid, drink too much - get stupid and all of these “problems” result in health issues. Reproduction is something that is easy to control! Now, don’t jump on the incest, rape, pregnancy-you-should-be-allowed-to-get-an-abortion bandwagon - those cases are fewer and are in a category way different than the number of people who are laying down with anyone, anytime without protection, without a thought about a pregnancy or disease and want to be able to get an abortion or be treated when their lifestyle catches up with them. No…I don’t buy that. But back on the issue we’re discussing. Obviously this woman has mental and emotional issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t addressed sooner in her life, but it is what it is. She needs help now more than ever and I hope that she can raise those babies with all the love she very well may posses! But instead of chastising her, let her get the help she needs now so those babies have a better chance in life. Her intention was to have more children to add to her six - she got more than she bargained for and wasn’t willing to throw any of them away. Should she profit from this - no…but should she get the help she’ll need — yes.
By Rena Jean on 02/07/2009 5:09 am
Nancy D'Amico
I see this for what it is. This gal has no thoughts of anyone but herself. She may have her degrees……but not any heart.
By Nancy D'Amico on 02/07/2009 6:14 am