Names:
During an interview on NBC, the mother identified the six boys and two girls as Maliah, Noah, Jonah, Nariah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, McCai, and Josiah.
Birthdate:
The babies were born Monday, January 26, 2009.
Hometown:
The mother lives in Whittier, California.
Birth Info:
The babies were delivered at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center by a team of 46 physicians and medical professionals. It was originally thought that there were seven babies; the eighth was a surprise. The babies were at 30.5 weeks gestation when they were delivered by cesarean section. The babies weighed between 1 pound, 8 ounces and 3 pounds and 4 ounces.
Family Info:
The mother of the octuplets is Nadya Suleman, an 33-year-old unemployed single mother. Although details are sketchy, the babies were reportedly conceived by IVF (in vitro fertilization) using sperm from an unidentified man. The same donor was used to conceive Suleman's six other children via IVF, including twins who were two-years-old at the time of the octuplets' birth. The children range in age from seven to two, and reportedly one of the six has special needs. At the time of the birth, the family lived with Suleman's divorced parents, Angela and Ed Suleman, in a three-bedroom home.
More Info:
Acclaim turned to criticism as details of the mother's background came to light. It was unclear how the young mother would afford to care for fourteen children. Reproductive specialists condemned the pregnancy as ethically irresponsible. Full details about how many embryos were implanted, or who funded the cost of the IVF treatment were not revealed. The state of California revoked the medical license of Michael Kamrava, the doctor who performed helped her conceive the octuplets as well as her other children. The eight babies were the first set of surivivng octuplets born in the United States.
Updates:
The babies are doing remarkably well. A week after birth they were all breathing on their own and were feeding on donated breastmilk, along with intravenous nutritional supplementation. Reportedly, the mother is seeking compensation for sharing her story with the media.
