Octuplets' Mom Hires An Agent

Hattie Kauffman: She Hopes To Become TV Childcare Expert To Earn Living; She Used Settlement Proceeds For In-Vitro

(CBS)  The California octuplets turned a week old Monday, and officials at Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower Medical Center say all eight continue to do well.

But, Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman observed Monday that the picture emerging of their mother is that of a woman who's been fixated on having babies.

Nadya Suleman, 33, now has 14, all seven years old and under.

She lives with her parents in a modest home in Whittier, Calif., outside Los Angeles.

There've been no pictures yet of the infants or Suleman. She remains hospitalized, too.

Reporters continue to pepper her parents with questions at the family home.

"Everybody's doing good," Suleman's father said.

How are the kids doing? "Fantastic," he replied.

Suleman's mother told CBS News Nadya paid for in vitro fertilization with money from a legal settlement after a work accident.

The octuplets' grandmother adds that all 14 kids were conceived through in vitro, using the same sperm donor.

It's unclear how Suleman plans to support her huge family. Her parents have had financial problems. The octuplets are all preemies and will likely require extra care.

Suleman once had a license as a psychiatric technician but that expired. In recent years, she's been an unemployed student.

Suleman, though, has hired an agent, Kauffman says, and there are reports she hopes to make money through TV interviews and even by working as an on-camera childcare expert.

"She did not seek to have more children," Suleman's grandfather has said. "She thought she was going to have ONE more child."

Suleman's mother told Kauffman that, when Suleman was in her mid-20s, she believed she was infertile and became obsessed with having children. That's what a family acquaintance says, as well, telling Kauffman Suleman always hoped for ten kids.

[momof02-2009]

To have 8 babies at once is wrong. I think that there is a bigger issue here. It all comes down to money. Are we a nation of people that sit around thinking of ways to get rich off our kids? I think that if there is someone out there willing to give this mother 2 million dollars to tell her story about the birth of the 8 babies, then they are wrong. I also feel that in a way this is child abuse. To use your babies to make money is wrong. That is like saying that she would sell her babies to the highest bidder.
I have a 12 year old girl and one on the way and I need help. Why should a mother that puts herself on a table and allows a "doctor" to inplant 8 eggs in her, knowing that she already has 6 kids, be allowed to ask the tax payers for welfare and free health care. When I have a good job and no health care that is afforable to me be denied to have that help I so need.
So if I go out and have 10 babies at once can I have 5 million dollars?

[thebubster3]

I agree that Nadya has gone completely off the deep end. I also agree that the authorities shoul review this doctor and his practicies. But, regardless of these issues, assuming the stories we hear are true and the family is actually financially strapped, not only will society pay a price but these children are going to pay and suffer dearly for their mother''s irresponsible actions. We all need to focus more on finding the right way to ensure all 14 of these children are being raised in a loving environment and provided the physical and mental support they need to grow into healthy and responsible teens and adults. We should not allow our disgust with Nadya to interfere with ensuring these children are properly cared for, regardless of the means with which it is provided.

[davmelt]

The California Code of Regulations, which includes the 1991
Uniform Housing Code, contains residential occupancy
standards. A home must have at least one room of 120
square feet. Additional rooms must have at least 70 square
feet. Two people can occupy each room and for each
additional 50 square feet, an additional person can occupy
the room. The Code does not distinguish between a bedroom,
living room, dining room, and kitchen. All rooms can be
used for sleeping except bathrooms, hallways, closets, and
stairwells.

A city or county can adopt more stringent occupancy
standards but only if it makes express findings that the
changes are reasonably necessary because of local climatic,
geological, or topographical conditions.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes
it unlawful to discriminate against any person in any
housing accommodation on the basis of familial status. The
State Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)
administers and enforces the FEHA. Generally, DFEH
recognizes an oinformalo occupancy limit of two persons per
bedroom plus one additional person (2+1) for the entire
dwelling unit, but they evaluate each complaint
individually for any intentional discrimination.

Straight from the cali. occupancy standards, i think they may be alittle big for a 3 bedroom house, by law.

[flagwavrblue]

This mother had better be leery of signing any deal with Oprah Winfrey. Oprah will drop her like a bag of wet cement if public opinion turns against this mother of fourteen. The TV boom of shows with multiple births is partly to blame for this octuplet birth. There is already a show with a six child multiple birth set, so this woman had to have more in order to get paid.

[txsldy_04]

To Shockolit , you would be correct in the whole diaper company giving her all the diapers she needs for the babies. They did that the day the where born.

[davmelt]

Not to mention a 3 bedroom house with 14 kids? Where the hell are all these kids going to be sleeping, that is child endangerment right there having that many people in one house, their are laws against the number of people in a certain size house, and 3 bedrooms are definitly not enought for 14 kids, 1 mother and 2 grandparents.

[davmelt]

Anyone that pays this woman is just telling others to go ahead and have as many babies at once cause they will get paid for it and become famous, even though it risks the mothers life and the babies life. Bascially TV shows and stuff that pay this woman are saying hell even though your children while probly have alot of problems, we''ll pay you for having them all at once.

[american30]

And to think we now have Obama who will give them free health insurance because it is their right. Go Democrats~!

[tireslinger]

Selfish?? Absolutely! Scammer?? Probably. The taxpayers of California should be beyond outraged, and what has occurred here. If the local DCS agency is not already involved, then they''re as inept as many of the rest of them, in this country.

Culpability without a doubt, has to lie with the medical facility, responsible for these implants. Was a thorough history done on this woman?? Hoping so, policy or not, why in God''s name, wasn''t somebody asking some questions, here? The implanting doc, deserves licensure suspension, at the very least. There exists no medical, ethical, moral, practical...etc., reason that was good enough for him/her to implant all eight embryos.

[kimmyj43]

I too am sick of the government supporting people who continue to have children that they can''t or won''t support on their own. I am pissed off that I have to support these people with my own hard-earned money ever single year because I don''t go around spitting out little tax deductions of my own every year. I work hard for my money but I have to end up paying it back to the government so that they can turn around and give it to these people. I am furious every year I do my taxes because I can''t get back what I pay in because of people like this woman. The government in this country is bass-ackwards and I''m getting a little tired of being punished for working all year every year and not popping out kids right and left.

[andie52]

Which scam was the settlement for, slip and fall or rear end bump?

Posted by rsmik at 01:11 AM : Feb 03, 2009

-------------------------------------------------
I don%u2019t believe the settlement story the mother has lied throughout this whole debacle. Nadya
probably used grant money for college to pay for the IVF. Aside from that there are the ethics of implanting so many embryos and why keep the name of the doctor or clinic hushed up? There is so much more to this story that hasn%u2019t been revealed. No reputable company or talk show host will touch this story with a 10 foot pole. She has a good chance with Dr. Phil though.

[titans58]

I agree with DCS coming in and dealing with this only if they actually deal with it. Im doing so the only logical thing to do is take those babies as soon as they are released from hospital and let parents adopt them while they are babies. Case closed!! She is obviously sick from a serious disorder and has npo business raising any of them. It seems she also has this issue with making money off of them to help raise them. dang wish i would have thought of that to raise my 4 that i have got ou of the house to work hard for and raise alng side with my husband. I say she should not get any endorsements and i certainly would not buy any products that are indorse with her name with it. Its up to us to protest this. I feel sorry for her and she needs to seek professional help but she should not be raising all thosw children at all. She is sick. i feel especially sorry for the children as they WILL suffer.

[cbrown941]

Child & Family Services need to get involved NOW. This women wants to make money and use her kids to do it. Who was this doctor who implanted the eggs? He should be held responsible, this procedure needs to be monitored closely for any women and prevented in this situation. She should not get her kids, they cannot be cared for properly in a small house with 6 other kids under 7. I ache for these poor little guys.

[elizlucinda]

what does political affiliation have to do with this? It is a combination of an unethical doctor who implanted all these embryos and a woman who has a mental illness. I hope the authorities can figure out who is responsible for this mess so they can take his or her medical license away. I also hope child protective services moniters this family carefully. I don''t see a bright future for this family unfortunately

[avebuary]

This woman has never been held responsible for her own actions. Mom and dad always bailed her out. Maybe if the grandparents had kicked her out after the 2nd pregnancy and she had to be accountable for her actions there might not be 14 children now. If she actually had to work and take care of her children there wouldn''t be time to keep getting pregnant. Now the grandmother is stuck caring for 6 grandchildren while their mother has been basking her the attention of the media attention. The grandfather is going back to Iraq to earn money for the family (but is more likely going there to get away from the insanity of the situation). If I were the grandmother I would have called child protective services to come pick the grandchildren up as soon as the daughter went into the hospital. That would definitely serve as a wake up call to the mother.

She has never proven that she could adequately take care of the first 6 children let along 8 more. This is clearly about selfishness and greed and money. Popping out babies does not automatically make you a good parent. Putting the welfare of your children ahead of yourself does that. With 6 children, one of which is special needs, this woman obviously isn''t concerned about their needs. This is not a woman who can provide a positive message about parenting and responsibility.

What kind of role models were her parents? They obviously never set boundaries for her.

[rsmik]

Which scam was the settlement for, slip and fall or rear end bump?

[luvlandi]

My children go to school with her 3 oldest and my daughter is close friends with her daughter. She seems really sweet and her children seem well adjusted. There is a lot that the public doesn''t know and I just everyone would give her a chance to tell her side of the story.

[makemyday2da]

I find it disgusting this woman (I can''t justify calling her a mother) thinks she is suddenly an "expert" on child care - and wants to prove it "on camera". She hasn''t even been home yet from the hospital - but she''s already an "expert"!! Let''s see, she already has SIX kids and lives with her Mom and Dad. Does anyone see where her expertise comes in to play here??! She TOTALLY did this for the notoriety and MONEY - plain and simple! I''m sure she hadn''t thought what would she do if this doesn''t work out as planned. (I''ve got a suggestion - why not put some of these innocent babies up for adoption for there any MANY couples unable to have their own and this would be something positive.) There''s NO WAY this woman will be able to handle 14 kids under the age of seven either herself or with her parents help! She''s a selfish b-i-t-c-*!

[vranger]

"We shouldn''''t relax like some of you suggesting more and more of us getting sick of it paying enormous amount of taxes to support idiots like her, close the clinics I can give a d*am how many childeren if any get born today."

Its not really clear if she is an idiot, but you made VERY clear with the above incoherent rant that YOU are! ROFLMAO

[rncmpt]

I went through the Psychiatric Technician program with this girl---never in a million years would I have imagined she would chose this path. I look back and the pictures I have and just wonder.. what happened ?