Nadya Suleman

Nadya Suleman
Born	Natalie Denise Suleman July 11, 1975 (1975-07-11) (age 36) Fullerton, California
Residence	La Habra, California
Known for	Suleman octuplets
Spouse	Marcos Gutierrez (1996–2008)
Children	Four daughters, ten sons

Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman (born Natalie Denise Suleman; July 11, 1975),^[1] known as Octomom in the media, is an American woman who came to international attention when she gave birth to octuplets in January 2009.^[2][3] The Suleman octuplets are only the second full set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States. One week after their birth, they surpassed the previous worldwide survival rate for a complete set of octuplets set by the Chukwu octuplets in 1998. The circumstances of their high order multiple birth have led to controversy in the field of assisted reproductive technology as well as an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved.^[4] Public reaction turned negative when it was discovered that the single mother already had six other young children and was unemployed and on public assistance programs. She denies ever having used public assistance.^[5] She conceived the octuplets and her six older children via in vitro fertilization (IVF).^[6]

Early life and education

Suleman was born in Fullerton, California.^[7] She is the only child of Angela Victoria (born 1940) and Assyrian Iraqi American^[8] Edward Doud Suleman (born 1942). Her parents married in Las Vegas in 1974, and divorced in 1990.^[9][10]

After graduating from Nogales High School in 1993, she held a psychiatric technician license, and worked as a psychiatric technician at Metropolitan State Hospital, where her back was injured while at work. She attended California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) and received a Bachelor of Science degree in child and adolescent development in 2006. Suleman returned to CSUF to pursue a master's degree in counseling, leaving the program in 2008.^[11]

Marriage and divorce

In 1996, Suleman married Marco Gutierrez. They separated in 2000 and he filed for divorce in November 2006, which was finalized in January 2008.^[12] In an interview with Inside Edition Gutierrez said their marriage collapsed after attempts to start a family failed. Suleman was desperate and wanted to try in-vitro fertilization, but he disliked the idea of test tube babies, and refused. Gutierrez said he is not the father of any of Suleman's children and that he wishes his ex-wife the best. Gutierrez is remarried and has two children of his own.^[13][14]

Children

Suleman began in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in 1997, when she was 21 years old,^[15] under the supervision of Dr. Michael Kamrava, who was expelled from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in October 2009.^{[16][17][18][19]} In 2001, Suleman gave birth to her first child, a son named Elijah. After her first daughter, Amerah, was born in 2002, she received additional IVF treatments, which had resulted in three additional consecutive pregnancies and a total of six children (four sons, two daughters).^[20][21][22]

Octuplets

Main article: Suleman octuplets

Suleman stated that in 2008 she had eight embryos left over from her previous IVF treatments. She explained at the time that she requested that all of the remaining embryos be implanted, despite the norm for a woman her age being two or three implanted at the most.^[4] Suleman states that part of her reasoning for attempting a sixth pregnancy was so that the frozen embryos would not be destroyed. Supposedly, the six remaining embryos were implanted and two of the embryos split into twins, resulting in a total of eight embryos. Dr. Kamrava stated recently that she insisted on all 'fresh' cycles, and in fact she still has embryos stored with Dr. Kamrava.^[23] In June 2011, during a California Medical Board investigation, it was found that Kamrava had implanted twelve embryos, which the board found to be an "extreme" departure from standard of care.^[24] Five fetuses were evident after just one month but Suleman declined selective reduction.^[25] After reviewing Suleman's case, in combination with three other cases, the Medical Board of California voted to revoke Kamrava's medical license, effective July 1, 2011.^[24]

News of the octuplets caused an international media sensation.^[26] Public response was largely negative and even included death threats.^[27] There has been much public discussion about Suleman's decision to have the octuplets, including a minor protest outside the Suleman home.^[28] Many expressed concern that Suleman's decision for more children would burden taxpayers via public support.^[29][30][31] Suleman claims to be able to independently support her children, saying that she is planning to return to school to complete her Master's degree in counseling, but records show that Suleman is currently unemployed after having received disability between 2002 and 2008 as payment for a back injury suffered during a riot in September 1999.^[32]

As of March 2009, Suleman bought a new house in La Habra,^[33] and many stories questioned that the octuplets would be released from the hospital, while Suleman expressed concern about losing custody of them.^[34] In the early morning hours of April 1, the day she would bring the seventh octuplet home someone threw a baby seat through the back window of her Toyota minivan.^[35][36][37] As of April 14, 2009, all of the children are home with their mother and grandmother. The octuplets celebrated their first birthday on January 26, 2010. Suleman told People Magazine, "I don't get much sleep, about two or three hours a night. But I'm continuing to move forward with my life and trying to be the best mother I can be."^[38]

In a June 2011 interview, Suleman purportedly told In Touch: "I hate babies, they disgust me. … Obviously, I love them - but I absolutely wish I had not had them."^[39] Suleman later stated she did not give an interview with the magazine,^[40] but a recorded audio tape surfaced three weeks later.^[41]

Public profile

Suleman quickly captured the public eye with the birth of octuplets. Within the first week, the media dubbed her "Octomom". Suleman hired the Killeen Furtney Group as her initial public relations company, with Wes Yoder providing a small amount of pro bono advice. Both groups soon ended their involvement after receiving death threats.^[42] Her next spokesman was Victor Munoz,^[43] who quit on March 6, 2009.^[44]

Suleman has appeared on many television shows, starting with a February 2009 interview with Ann Curry. Suleman rejected suggestions that her decisions have been selfish or that she may not be able to care for her children, stating, "I know I'll be able to afford them when I'm done with my schooling. If I were just sitting down, watching TV and not being as determined as I am to succeed and provide a better future for my children, I believe that would be considered to a certainly degree selfish".^[45] Suleman would later make another appearance later in March on Dr. Phil alongside fellow guest Gloria Allred. Allred had a list of criticisms regarding Suleman's performance as mother and homemaker.^[46]

On April 16, 2009, Suleman revealed she struck a deal for a reality TV show in the UK, though The Hollywood Reporter said some US networks were reluctant to pick up the show.^[47] Suleman signed an agreement with the Los Angeles Superior Court on July 24 to have each of her children earn $250 a day to star in a reality show; filming was set to begin on September 1.^[48] On May 4, 2009, it was announced that Allred had filed a case with Orange County Superior Court requesting that a guardian be appointed to protect the rights of the infants.^[49] Later Fox aired their own two-hour special titled, Octo-Mom: The Incredible Unseen Footage, aired on August 19.^[50] There were many parodies and other media events based on the story, including a 2009 musical performed in Los Angeles, although she was not involved in its production.^[51]

In the February 2010 issue of Star magazine, there was an interview and pictorials, focused mainly on her weight loss since delivering the octuplets a year earlier.^[50]

In April 2010 Suleman was on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Idol Gives Back, in which she denied claims that she had received plastic surgery and stated that she refused to star in pornographic movies. She added that she had severely rethought her decision to give birth to and raise her children,^{[clarification needed]} and that she hoped to become a teacher.^[52] She made another appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where she asked and received help from Suze Orman about financial issues that she was then facing with her her children and discussed her compulsive hoarding disorder developed from childhood.^[53]

In January 2011, videos and images surfaced on the Internet depicting Suleman participating in a fetish video. The video showed Suleman whipping an acquaintance of hers, Los Angeles radio personality, Tattoo, inside her home.^[54]

Extended family

Before knowledge of the octuplets became public, Suleman had been living with her six older children and mother in a small three-bedroom house in Whittier, California. Property records show the Suleman house in mortgage default, scheduled to be sold at auction in May 2009.^[55] Suleman's parents filed for bankruptcy in 2008, citing nearly $1 million in liabilities.^[56] In March 2010 it was reported that Suleman's own La Habra house was facing foreclosure.^[57]

Suleman's father, Edward Doud Suleman,^[58] identified himself as a former Iraqi military man and said he would be returning to his native Iraq as a translator and driver in order to financially support his daughter and her fourteen children.^[59] Suleman's mother, Angela Victoria Suleman, a retired high school teacher, has helped to look after the first six children. She has indicated that she is overwhelmed looking after them, and has been critical of her daughter in her earlier public statements. Amongst similar interviews, she revealed that her daughter never expected to give birth to the large number of children, nor did she expect to be unemployed and use public assistance.^[60]

References

	Greater Los Angeles portal
	Biography portal

1. ^ According to Family Tree Legends she was born in Orange County which supports Fullerton as her place of birth vs. Bellflower (Los Angeles County) which is sometimes reported. Natalie D. Suleman
2. ^ Octuplets' mom: 'I'm not being selfish', MSNBC.com, February 11, 2009
3. ^ Nadya Suleman High School Yearbook Picture
4. ^ ^{a b} Octuplets' mom says she had 6 embryos implanted, Associated Press, February 6, 2009
5. ^ Video at 1:20
6. ^ Egg on his face: Fertility Doc ripped by Octomom's Dad New York Post, February 11, 2009
7. ^ Curry, Ann (2009-02-10). "Her side of the story". Dateline NBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29129311/. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
8. ^ ".". http://www.onlineusanews.com/nadya-suleman-octomom-12335.php. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Tracy Connor (02/05/2009). "Octuplet mom Nadya Suleman released from hospital - to what kind of future?". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/02/05/2009-02-05_octuplet_mom_nadya_suleman_released_from.html. Retrieved 2009-03-20. 
10. ^ 'All I wanted was children', Telegraph.co.uk, February 7, 2009.
11. ^ Garrison, Jessica; Yoshino, Kimi (2009-01-31). "Octuplets' mom was hoping for 'just one more girl,' grandmother says". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-octuplets31-2009jan31,0,6246659.story. Retrieved May 19, 2010. 
12. ^ "Octuplet Mom's Ex: We Split Because We Couldn't Have Kids". Archived from the original on 2009-03-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20090304190701/http://www.usmagazine.com/news/octo-moms-ex-we-split-because-we-couldnt-have-kids-200933. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
13. ^ "Talking to Octomom Nadya Suleman's Ex-Husband". Inside Edition. 4 March 2009. http://www.insideedition.com/storyprint.aspx?SpecialReportID=2687. Retrieved 28 January 2011. 
14. ^ Dodd, Johnny (Tuesday March 03, 2009). "Octuplets' Mom's Ex: Those Aren't My Kids". people.com. People Weekly. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20262840,00.html. 
15. ^ "Kamrava Accusation". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/includes/misc/kamravaaccusation.pdf?loc=interstitialskip. Retrieved May 19, 2010. 
16. ^ Duke, Alan, "Medical society boots doctor who did IVF in Suleman octuplets case" CNN (October 19, 2009)
17. ^ Rubin, Rita (2009-10-19). "'Octomom' doctor expelled from fertility group". USA Today (USA Today). http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-10-18-octomom-doctor-fertility_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-29. 
18. ^ Medical society probes octuplets’ conception, MSNBC, February 10, 2009
19. ^ "Octomom's Fertility Doc Slammed by Colleagues". People. October 20, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
20. ^ "Her side of the story". MSNBC. February 10, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
21. ^ "Revealed: Three of octuplet mother's older children are disabled... and she claims benefits for them". Daily Mail. February 14, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
22. ^ "How the heartwarming tale of the U.S. octuplets became a seedy story of self-indulgence". Daily Mail. February 2, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
23. ^ LAtimes.com, Kamrava Accusation
24. ^ ^{a b} Dobuzinskis, Alex (June 1, 2011). "Octomom doctor loses California medical license". Reuters (Reuters). http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/01/us-octomom-idUSTRE7507TL20110601?feedType=RSS. Retrieved 1 June 2011. 
25. ^ The Octuplet Mom Speaks, and the Questions Grow February 7, 2009
26. ^ Veil about to be lifted on octuplets' mystery mom, Associated Press, February 5, 2009
27. ^ Threats send California octuplets mom into hiding Reuters, February 11, 2009
28. ^ Octuplets' birth spawns outrage from public, Los Angeles Times, February 7, 2009
29. ^ Yoshino, Kimi; Garrison, Jessica (2009-02-11). 7610365.story "Octuplets could be costly for taxpayers". latimes.com (Los Angeles Times). http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-octuplets11-2009feb11,0, 7610365.story. Retrieved 2009-03-08. 
30. ^ Mohajer, Shaya Tayefe (2009-02-11). "Taxpayers may have to cover octuplet mom's costs". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilIx-PXnXPpwF1a_nlRYF00fzBIQD969P20O0. Retrieved 2009-03-08. 
31. ^ Bryant, Carleton (2009-02-11). "Report: Octuplets likely to cost taxpayers millions". The Washington Times. http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/out-context/2009/Feb/11/report-octuplets-likely-to-cost-taxpayers-millions/. Retrieved 2009-03-08. 
32. ^ Statemen, Alison (February 7, 2009). "Octuplet mom speaks, questions grow". Time Magazine (Time, inc.). http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1877962,00.html. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
33. ^ I wanted a huge family to make up for my lonely childhood: Mother of octuplets speaks for the first time MailOnline February 7, 2009
34. ^ Hospital may not release octuplets to mom February 25, 2009
35. ^ "Octo Mom Brings Seventh Baby Home from Hospital". omg! news on Yahoo!. April 1, 2009. http://omg.yahoo.com/news/octo-mom-brings-seventh-baby-home-from-hospital/20738. 
36. ^ Bonnie Buck and Hasani Gittens (April 2, 2009). "One to Go: Octo-Mom's 7th Baby Home". NBC San Diego. http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/us_world/Octo-Mom-Blah-Blah-Blah-7th-Baby-Home.html. 
37. ^ "Octomom's van smashed with baby seat". The Daily Breeze. http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_12054443. 
38. ^ "Nadya Suleman's Octuplets Turn 1!". People Magazine. January 26, 2010.
39. ^ "Nadya Suleman: My babies disgust me". In Touch Magazine. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/30/nadya-suleman-my-babies-disgust-me/. Retrieved 30 June 2011. 
40. ^ "Octomom furious over 'Fabricated' Interview" TMZ.com
41. ^ "Octomom Nadya Suleman's controversial comments about kids caught on tape: 'I'm disgusted by babies'" New York Daily News. July 19, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
42. ^ Publicists for octuplets' mother quit over death threats, Los Angeles Times, February 15, 2009
43. ^ California octuplets mom passes on offer of 24-hour nursing care, The Canadian Press, February 28, 2009
44. ^ ABCnews.go.com
45. ^ Octuplets' mom: 'All I ever wanted', CNN, February 6, 2009
46. ^ Suleman, Allred, nurses wage war of words KABC, March 25, 2009
47. ^ Octomom reality show reports; some networks reluctant The Live Feed
48. ^ "Nadya Suleman and octuplets to star in reality show". The Times of London. 2009-07-26. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6727995.ece. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
49. ^ "New Legal Challenge for Nadya Suleman". People. May 4, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
50. ^ ^{a b} "Fox to air two-hour ‘Octomom’ special.". MSNBC. August 10, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32361669/ns/entertainment-access_hollywood/. Retrieved August 10, 2009. 
51. ^ "Photos: Octomom – The Musical!". People. June 12, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
52. ^ "Octomom Nadya Suleman to Appear on Oprah, Idol Gives Back". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Octomom-Suleman-Oprah-1017316.aspx. 
53. ^ "Suze Orman's Intervention with "Octomom" Nadya Suleman". The Oprah Winfrey Show. http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Suze-Ormans-Intervention-with-the-Octomom_1. 
54. ^ "Dominatrix Video? Octomom's 15th Child Has Hairy Chest, Stands About 5' 9"", Foxnews.com January 19, 2010
55. ^ Records: Home of octuplets' grandmother in default, Associated Press, February 18, 2009
56. ^ Octuplets' Family Has Bankruptcy History, ABC News, January 30, 2009
57. ^ "Octomom House Slips Into Foreclosure?". National Ledger. Mar 19, 2010. http://www.nationalledger.com/ledgerpop/article_272630913.shtml. Retrieved Mar 24, 2010. 
58. ^ Smith, Emily (2009-01-31). "Questions over octuplets". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2191783.ece. 
59. ^ Octuplets' Family Filed For Bankruptcy, CBS News, January 30, 2009
60. ^ Octuplet Grandma Calls Daughter 'Unconscionable', ABC News, February 9, 2009

Persondata
Name	Suleman, Nadya
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 11, 1975
Place of birth	Fullerton, California
Date of death
Place of death