OT: Woman gives birth to octuplets!!

[blueeyedtabbycat]

Has any one eles heard about the woman in California that just delivered 8 babies?!?!? OMG!! I cant imagine!! They are all doing great and breathing on thier own:) 6 boys and 2 girls! The woman was acually only expecting 7 babies but was surprised when they discovered the 8th!! I think they said the babies were 11 weeks premuture.....I cant believe it, I can imagine having that many children at once. What a miracle!!!!

[SoCalTricia]

I agree with everything you said. The whole thing is disgusting. Last night the story about this woman's situation was all over the news here. The mom is claiming it was donor sperm, and that it's the same donor she used for her previous SIX kids. The news reporter said, however, that rumors abound that the father of all the kids is a local police officer. Who knows? Mom is also claiming it was IVF, and they only implanted TWO embryos. How is that even possible? If that were the case, wouldn't the same-sex babies be identical? That would be the female embryo split into SIX. I doubt it. Anyway...the whole thing is just reprehensible. I think social services should take that woman's kids away! Apparently her folks helped her buy the 3 bedroom house they are in, and they lost their *own home because they went broke trying to support her and her six children. So now mom, her parents, and FOURTEEN children are living in a 3-bedroom home. The news also said there are rumors that she is trying to get a reality show, and they were asking viewers if they would watch it. I said HECK NO - who wants to watch a single mom with no job, fourteen kids, and living in a crappy house? That's the same kind of reality I see at work everyday - I'm not watching it at home, too. LOL.

Tricia

[melimeli]

I don't think that every woman has the right to have a child.. unfortantly we can't control that.. they are many mothers and fathers that don't deserve children and only cause pain to their children... like casey anthony or the bi tch that let her husband rape her 1 YEAR
OLD daughter in oregon and is just now going to court...  these people don''t deserve kids and for goodness sake if you are on welfare and you get pg again while on it you shouldn't get any increase in help... heck talk about encouraging irresponsible people to have more kids... ok, if we have another we can continue our benefits or get more or whatever.. likewise if you don't put a dad on the birth certificate you should get no benefits.. So many live with the dad and just don't put him on the certificate so they can claim benefits...  this world has gone nutso..  welfare used to be a last resort and people would feel ashamed to use it.. now people are proud they are scamming the system and getting something for nothing..  I wonder how many people would take that job at mcDonalds if they knew that uncle sam wasn't going to foot the bill for their life!!!  I shop for store brand foods and try to make my dollar stretch and I am so sick of seeing people come in and buy the most expensive steaks, and all name brand stuff and then take out their food stamp card... even more when a man is with them!!  and then they go out to their car.. and 8 times out of 10 it is nice!!  ok... that was a little tirade!!! haha.. anyway I guess you know what side of the political spectrum I stand on.. but heck I have seen poverty, in mexico, in peru and people who think they are poor here are living the high life, with their car's and cell phones.. if you can afford that you should get no help from the tax dollars of the people that work LIKE ME

[leighanne143]

hi ladies- when i interned and ran the social service department of a low to no income health center, i was appauled when i foudn out that the OB department gave fertility meds.  by no means were they doing IVF but they were giving clomid etc to those that did not even have green cards and where here illegally.  isnt that irresponsible.  and one women i worked with concieved triplets, mind you she was mentally ill, illegally here and already had other children whom she did not have because she could not take care of them.

i know that every women has the right to have a child and should be able to but when it comes to tax dollars and fertility treatment and drugs, there should be some guidelines.

[blueeyedtabbycat]

What I dont get is the fact that she had 6 children already, why does she need fertility help?? And if those other kids are a product of fertility treatments, how the heck didi she afford that?? I could honestly see maybe wanting one more but to implant 8 embroys!!!!! And where is the fathers??? What kind of doctor would do this?? What about the out come and future of all these babies if she is living off others??
When I first posted this I had no clue of all the details...............I feel ashamed:( I understand that not being able to terminate any of the babies, but the doctor who did this should be behind bars.......what if it hadn't worked out and something terrible had happened?? I just dont get it:(((((((

[melimeli]

GODDDDD no one would pay for my fertility treatments.. my second daughter put me back a cool 10G's hhaaha... and I have a good job with great insurance.... Forget the fertility treatments imagine what the hospital bill for all 8 kids is going to be like, then the continuing care, feeding them, educating them with specialists for their developmental delays all on our dime....   How can they do this?  It should be a crime... there is no way that a single mom and her mother can give the first 6 what they need emotionally while caring for 8 more...  and it looks like she was fertile on her own with 6 to begin with... why did she need treatment in the first place??  It kills me while on here we have loving women struggling to get pg with there first and up against the battle to pay for their treatments.... ok.. I just will never get the logic

[SoCalTricia]

Well...I haven't kept up with reports. But, apparently my suspicions were correct! There was a woman here in L.A. a few years back that was a similar situation. She already had 3 or 4 kids - but was married - and they were on Medi-Cal and welfare. NO IDEA why Medi-Cal paid for fertility treatments...anyway, she ended up having four, I think. Ridiculous. They couldn't even afford the kids they had, dad was unemployed, and they use FERTILITY treatments. Just unbelievable.

Tricia

[melimeli]

lets not forget 6 kids under 7 a set of young twins already and she is single doesn't work and media says on welfare and she decided to have 8 more.. in a 3 bedroom house she shares with her parents whom filed for bankrupsy last year and grandpa is going to irak to try to pay for some of these kids...  how do you afford fertility on welfare???  we must be paying her a bunch!! and she just doubled it.. she has no siblings so who is going to help???  and she is only 30... she could have another 40 kids with fertilty and go for a world record!!! ahhhh our tax dollars at work and we wonder why this country is going bankrupt.... I say if she can't pay for the kids and keeps having them we give them up for adoption to some parents that are dying to give everything to one child....  what a selfish woman!!!!

[40smama]

Really, all I can say is that's absolutely ridiculous.  Why oh why oh why????

[tbeards]

I too was floored to hear it was IVF. My clinic will not transfer more than two unless you are 42 or over and then I think they only will transfer three max.

[cure65roses]

The news reports say it was IVF, WOW  I just can't imagine a dr. who would transfer that many embies to someone with that many kids already.  Two is the max they should have allowed.  

[40smama]

7preg3b made an excellent point.  Just the normal care of 14 children must be staggering not to mention if they have any physical/mental disabilities.  I can tell you almost certainly who's going to be paying for it:  those who pay for Medicaid if she has no insurance and if her insurance runs out, and probably she'll be eligible for some kind of state assistance.  I'm just guessing here - but if she does get assistance, it'll be the taxpayer who'll be picking up the bill.

When doing IVF, my dr was extremely cautious about how many embryos to transfer back.  She counseled my husband and I heavily about the risks of multiple births which is why we chose to transfer one embryo back in.  Babyprayers is right - the embryo could've split and we would've had twins which would have been fine.  But it's very unlikely especially when using eggs of a younger woman.

I just think that drs should exercise more caution when prescribing drugs like Clomid - that's my point.  To not do so is irresponsible.

[7preg3b]

well  This lady apparently has 6 already 4 boys and two girls.  Is not that old and lives with her parents.  No mention of a husband or father in any of the articles.  I saw a picture of the house and there is no way they will be able to do it without help..  I have my feelings about it but would prefer to keep it to myself..  That gives her 14 children under 7 or 8.  whos paying for this???  

[tbeards]

I think Tricia was also mentioning that the doctors (if they are even doctors, and even if they are doctors, do they even have much experience with fertility treatments) are the irresponsible parties. Typically when you hear of over 4 babies, it is a result of fertility drugs, not IVF and is typically done without monitoring properly to make sure the patient isn't overstimulating. I just had my 31 week appointment today and my OB mentioned that a lot of times, the super mutiples are a result of doctors (not even OB/gyns) that prescribe the medication to their patients to "help" with ovulation. I can't believe that malpractice suits haven't hit the headlines yet regarding this type of irresponsibility.

[SoCalTricia]

Sure...putting in two or three embryos *can* result in that many babies...but the likelihood is very, very small. It would be interesting to know exactly what the circumstances *were. But I still stand by my opinion that having that many babies is irresponsible. It's wonderful that - SO FAR - everything is fine. But the chances of things turning out fine were very small. And this woman - AND her doctors - have risked *her life and the lives and health off ALL of those babies by choosing not to abort some of them. And the others who said the media glorifies multiple births are right - and the fact is, *most births of 4 or more babies do NOT end happily. Plus, it remains to be seen if all of them will be "normal". I certainly hope they are all fine, though!

Congratulations on your twins - that is wonderful! I'm glad everything worked out well for you!

Tricia

[babyprayers]

without causing an argument, when one does fertlility treatment a mere 2 embryos put back in could lead to 4 6 or even 8 babies, if that one embryo splits and then splits again and you have triplets etc... some opt for selective reduction, while others could not bear the thought of that, which ever one someone chooses is soley up to them. I truly do not feel it is selfish, I dont think anyone PLANS 8 children, I did IVF and put back 2 embryos hoping by the grace of god at least one took they both took and I have beautiful twins, I ALMOST put back 3, I tried for soooo long to get pregnant, Our insurance did not cover it, it was extremely expensive, and I had to pay so much upfront and be put on a payment plan, Thank god it worked because it was a one shot deal for us, I did not plan for 2, and yes money does get tight, and yes when I am offered coupons or enroll with a formula company and diaper company for free stuff I take it, I dont feel that I was irresponsible, or selfish for that matter,. Again, not trying to cause a ruckus, just pointing out that I feel it was meant to be, 8 children brought into this world is not a bad thing, its a miracle!

[Van73]

I too wish this couple and those babies well. It is irresponsible of the press to only report the "success" of multiples. There are MANY< MANY mulitple births that end in Tragedy and it is truly heartbreaking. I hope these babies fair well and they dont have any complications.  I watch John and Kate plus 8 and THAT family is a miracle in its self.  I have 3 kids, all different ages and could NOT imagine several babies at once (all the SAME AGE!)
Vanessa

[SoCalTricia]

I agree...in some ways, it makes me shake my head at the irresponsibility of it all. I'm glad things are going well so far - but how the children actually will do remains to be seen. Babies born that early and that small often have disabilities, either physical or mental, that won't show until they are supposed to hit certain developmental milestones. Plus, I always think about the money...I don't know ANYONE that could afford 8 babies...so these people rely on the generosity of others, which is great. But it's kind of selfish, IMO. However, I do wish the best for this couple.

Tricia

[tbeards]

I completely agree with you about the press not reporting the devastating stories of mothers who lose most if not all of the babies, which is by far the majority of cases. We had a woman here in MN who had sextuplets and I think one may have survived but the other five for sure died within two months of giving birth. Although I am very happy that the mother and all of the babies are doing well and happy for all of the stories of survival, the question of ethics in "fertility" clinics has to come up at some point. For instance, at my clinic, and most that I hear about on these boards for that matter, at the first chance of over stimulation the cycle is cancelled for both IUI and IVF. I guess it doesn't meant that women don't risk it anyway as there was one post on the fertility forum awhile back from someone who said that her clinic wasn't going to proceed with her IUI treatment because of over stimulation and she was asking if others would BD anyway. Pure craziness! What I have read in the past is most super multiples are conceived through clinics that go the less expensive route meaning less ultrasound monitoring and higher doses of infertility meds.

I hope the babies do well. I'm having twins and I just can't imagine even one more in my belly!!!! : )

[adgal]

Jen, that is a very good point, and one that I think we often forget.  As glad as I am that this family is doing well, we women were just not built to carry 7 or 8 babies at once.  You are right that most of these stories do not end well.  

[40smama]

It is a miracle - that's for sure.  For every miracle that's reported, there are many, many sad stories regarding this kind of situation.  I think sometimes having multiples is glorified by the press - that the danger is very, very real for both mommy and baby(ies).  These stories are easily forgotten when upon hearing those miracle stories.

[adgal]

Yep, I heard about it too.  And it truly is a miracle!  Can you imagine...8 infants all at once.  I have never even had one, and although I would be grateful for a big family, 8 at once....I can't even imagine 8 children, let alone all at once...  Bless her and her family though, and I am glad everyone is doing well.