Octuplets doctor has another patient expecting quadruplets.

Photo: (Gazette photo by David Lee Hartlage) The Grady Quadruplets (now 11 years old)

Three reporters at the L.A Times are reporting that the patient, who is in her late 40s, wanted one baby. Dr. Michael Kamrava transferred at least seven embryos to her. She is now hospitalized without insurance. A few months after Dr. Michael Kamrava helped Nadya Suleman become pregnant with octuplets, he transferred at least seven embryos to another patient.

She was in her late 40s and wanted just one baby.

Now she's five months pregnant with quadruplets and hospitalized at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, according to several sources familiar with the situation.

The new case could add to concerns about Kamrava's practice and about whether the fertility industry needs more regulation.

In fertility medicine, any pregnancy greater than twins is considered a poor outcome because of the danger it poses to the mother and the babies. Quadruplet births are rare, with an average of 14 sets born in California each year, according to state records.

"Historically, we have been very hesitant to regulate anything close to procreation from parents making judgments about how many children they will have and when," said Kirk O. Hanson, ethics professor and executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

"However, that worked under a natural process of fertilization and incubation. There are serious questions about whether it works in an era of scientifically enhanced procreation."

The woman in the latest case arrived recently at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles for unspecified treatment but was transferred last week to County-USC Medical Center because she lacks insurance. Doctors placed her on bed rest until the birth of the babies, which could be two or three months from now.

The California Medical Board has said it is looking into the octuplets' case to determine whether a doctor may have violated any standards of care. Read more...

Source: The Los Angeles Times By Kimi Yoshino, Jessica Garrison and Alan Zarembo
February 13, 2009

Octuplet case sparks calls for fertility-industry curbs.

At first, the world celebrated Nadya Suleman's octuplets as a medical miracle. But reaction to the Jan. 26 births quickly devolved from ballyhoo to backlash after the public learned that she had six other children through in vitro fertilization and was living on welfare.

Ethicists, medical providers and average citizens are asking why any physician would help Suleman, a single mother in Whittier, have that many children. Some said the case is evidence that the nation's $3 billion, self-regulated fertility industry needs government oversight.

“This case is an example of fertility services run amok,” said Lori Andrews, director of the Institute for Science, Law and Technology at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

But others, including many fertility doctors who readily concede the octuplets case defies medical guidelines and common sense, insist it is an aberration.

The first octuplets in the United States were born in 1998, also through in vitro fertilization.

“This doesn't happen very often. It shouldn't ever happen. But one has to be careful not to be reactionary to something that happens once a decade,” said Dr. Sanjay Agarwal of the Suleman octuplets. He is a clinical professor of reproductive medicine and director of fertility services at the University of California San Diego. Read the rest.......

Source: San Diego Union Tribune

California Medical Board Probes Octuplet Birth.

The fertility doctor who helped a California woman have 14 children, including octuplets born last month, is facing a state investigation and harsh criticism from medical ethicists.

The Medical Board of California did not identify the doctor who helped Nadya Suleman, 33, of Whittier become pregnant with the six boys and two girls born on Jan. 26., despite already having six other children.

"We're looking into the matter to see if we can substantiate if there was a violation of the standard of care," said board spokeswoman Candis Cohen.

Suleman, a divorced single mother, told NBC's "Today" show that the same fertility specialist provided in-vitro fertilization for all 14 of her children. Read more on FOX News.com

BELLFLOWER OCTUPLETS MOM NADYA SULEMAN'S PUBLICIST SPEAKS ON LARRY KING 2/3/09

The Publicist for the Bellflower octuplets mom Nadya Suleman speaks about the so called "Octuplet outrage", the rumors about her intentions of cashing in on her 14 babies. This is a very good interview! It sets the record straight from Publicist Joann Killeen. Killeen clarified every single rumor out there.

Octuplets Mom Not Getting Showered With Gifts reports the AP.

The AP reports......Where is the lifetime supply of diapers, formula and baby wipes? The free van? The brand-new house?

Women who give birth to six, seven or eight babies are often showered with dazzling gifts from big corporations, local businesses and strangers. But that is not happening with the Southern California mother who delivered octuplets last week.

The news that she is a single mother with six other children — and that all 14 were conceived by having embryos implanted — seems to have turned off many people, and companies are not exactly rushing to get publicity by piling on the freebies.

Nadya Suleman, 33, has been lambasted by talk-show hosts, fertility experts, even her own mother, who has her hands full taking care of Suleman's other children, ages 2 to 7.

A veteran Hollywood publicist said Suleman's handlers have their work cut out for them in trying to win public sympathy for her.

"I think it's a calamity," said publicist David Brokaw, who has handled crises for celebrities. "I don't see, the way this is shaped, how you can say much about it in terms of something favorable."

Makers of diapers, formula and other products would probably want to steer clear of her, Brokaw said. He suggested she lie low for now and concentrate on crafting an image as a responsible parent.

Gerber spokesman David Mortazavi said that if the baby-food maker was planning to do something for the family, it probably would have done it already, and that the octuplets' birth was not on Gerber's radar. He would not elaborate.

Procter & Gamble spokeswoman Tricia Higgins said that the maker of Pampers does not actively seek out parents to sponsor, but that the octuplets' mother can ask for what is typically provided in multiple births: a jumbo pack of diapers for each child, baby wipes, and coupons for discounts. That is unlikely to last Suleman a week.

Conservative radio talk show host Bill Handel in Los Angeles, who has branded the births "freakish," said on the air Tuesday that people ready to boycott any corporations that help the octuplets or their mother.

Suleman's spokesman Mike Furtney said that he has received some "fairly negative" comments from the public but that offers to help with the babies have come in from nurses, and some baby stores have stepped forward to volunteer their support.

"I don't remember the brand name, but one major disposable diaper company sent some diapers," he said. Furtney said he was confident that once Suleman tells her story, many of her critics will "readjust their thinking a little."

Furtney said Suleman has had offers for TV and other media deals, but he added it was too early to discuss how much money she might receive.

For a single mother, the cost of raising 14 children through age 17 ranges from $1.3 million to $2.7 million through age 17, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Suleman octuplets' medical costs have not been disclosed, but the average cost for just one cesarean birth in 2006 was $22,762 in California. The Suleman babies were born nine weeks premature. In California, a single premature birth in 2006 led to an average hospital stay of 25 days and cost $164,273. That would amount to a $1.3 million bill for eight.

Suleman's income is unclear. She was employed by a mental hospital from 1997 through 2008.

Nasty callers dominated the phone lines in the first few days after the octuplets were born at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center.

"We heard a lot of outrage because there was a vacuum of information and people were going on rumor and conjecture," said hospital spokeswoman Socorro Serrano.

But calls of encouragement, particularly from mothers of multiples, have also poured in, along with offers of hand-me-downs and tips, Serrano said.

In 1998, Nkem Chukwu of Houston became the first mother to give birth to octuplets in the U.S. The family lives in a donated, six-bedroom suburban home, and the stay-at-home mom had a small army of volunteers help feed and care for the seven surviving babies for the first few years.

The parents of the McCaughey septuplets — seven babies born in Iowa in 1997 — received a donated 16-room house, a 15-passenger van, baby food from Gerber, and a lifetime supply of Pampers from Procter & Gamble.

The stars of The Learning Channel's reality show "Jon and Kate Plus 8," about a couple with sextuplets and twins, are paid, and have received a slew of freebies through the show, including trips to Hawaii and New York, a tummy tuck for Mom and hair plugs for Dad.

TLC President Eileen O'Neill said production companies that work with TLC have already made offers to Suleman's family, but the network is waiting to see how TV-friendly the family is.

"We're certainly like the rest of America; we're waiting to see how this develops," O'Neill said. "The number of children or scale of the multiples is intriguing, but it also comes down to what are the family's lives like?"

My Octuplets and I are praying for this family everyday

Multiple Births – A Reason Of Concern Rather Than Joy?

Thanks to fertility treatments, multiple births have become more common in the last few decades, according to statistics. The most recent case, which astonished the medical world, is that of a woman in California who gave birth to the second set of octuplets in the history of the United States at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Bellflower on Monday.

The babies, six boys and two girls, are doing well, according to the doctors dealing with the case. However, they will remain in incubators for the following six weeks, as they were born nine weeks before term.

The first set of octuplets was born in Houston, Texas, in 1998, six girls and two boys. Unfortunately, one of girls died days after birth because of heart and lung failure. The other seven recently celebrated their tenth birthday. Their parents, Nkem Chukwu and Iyke Louis Udobi said they are more than grateful to see their children healthy and active.

Besides the excitement of such an event, it is common knowledge that multiple births are risky, as the uterus is capable of carrying and feeding a certain number of foetuses. Therefore, multiple births increase the odds of having babies born before term, which as well increase the risk of developing health problems and dying.

In fact, the more premature the babies are delivered, the greater risks they have of dying or suffering serious lifelong problems, according to Dr. Norbert Gleicher, medical director at the Center for Human Reproduction in New York.

“The media should not make this into heroic case,” Gleicher said about the octuplets in California. “This is anything but a heroic case. This is very bad medicine,” he added, referring to the fact that medical guidelines limit the number of embryos implanted at the same time to two or three at most. Multiple births pose risks for the mother as well, as she is more likely to develop gestational diabetes, hypertension and preeclampsia.

Source: Anna Boyd E-Flux Media

A FATHER OF ONE SURVIVING TWIN ASKS.....WHY WOULD ANYONE EVEN HAVE OCTUPLETS?

William H. Woodwell Jr. is the author of "Coming to Term: A Father's Story of Birth, Loss and Survival." The birth of octuplets in a Bellflower hospital this week was greeted by celebratory headlines around the world. "Miracle Mum Gives Birth to Eight Babies," announced the Belfast Telegraph. But, in truth, it's hard to celebrate a situation in which eight lives -- nine counting the mother -- have been placed at enormous risk.

"My concern stems from personal experience. In 1997, my wife gave birth to twins who were, like these eight babies, premature. Our babies, both girls, were born at 24 weeks; a full-term birth is about 40 weeks. Each weighed less than 1 1/2 pounds. The smaller of the two, Nina, died after a 49-hour struggle. Her sister, Josie, spent four torturous months in the newborn intensive care unit, or NICU, before coming home. She is now 11 years old. Apart from a very mild case of cerebral palsy, Josie is doing beautifully. We are very fortunate." Read the rest......

Source: Los Angeles Times