Nadya Suleman

Hmmm. I hate to jump on bandwagons. I really do. It upsets the image I hold of myself as an independent thinker and champion of the underdog.

However, this situation is BIZARRE. Nadya holds a bachelor in early childhood development, she adores children but has never been able to have kids on her own and doesn't want to be married. Okay. That all sounds fine.

Then Nadya has 6 children by invitro. Okay. I guess that's her business. Too many for a single mother trying to get her master's degree but what business is it of mine? Then she gets impregnated yet again and has 8. 14 children for a single woman trying to get her master's, unemployed and living in a small 3 bedroom house with her parents? That's too much for anyone. Absolutely too much.

When asked how she afforded all these invitro sessions, she stated in an interview that she was "paid" to have the other children by invitro. She didn't go on to elaborate. Paid? What? Was she paid to have these as well? She must have because I saw an invitro specialist on a news show who estimated that these 8 babies probably cost in excess of $150,000 just to conceive them and at this time are costing in excess of $100,000 per day per child for their medical treatment. Who is paying for this?? She doesn't have health insurance so who is footing this enormous bill??

That is one of my issues with this entire thing. The Duggar family over in Arkansas who have 18 (or 19) children, although I think they are out of their minds, are a good example of what you do when you want a BUNCH of kids. They have never received any amount of public assistance. They struggle and sacrifice to pay cash for their vehicles, furniture, house. I know they had help finishing their house up by an HGTV show but still, the public was never taxed with having to support them in any way. Having said that, if they want to have 30 kids, as long as they take care of them, don't abuse them, and I don't have to pitch in to help support them, I am fine with it.

Nadya is another story. There is NO way that she can support these kids without public assistance. There is certainly no way that she can pay these medical expenses without public assistance.

She hasn't been so much of a planner apparently. She has depended HEAVILY on her parents for support and from the sounds her mother is making, I think that gravy boat has sailed. Her mother issued a statement yesterday that said when Nadya came home from the hospital, she was on her own because grandma didn't want her to have these 8 extra kids anyway. Go grandma!

Another issue I have with this is, how is she going to take care of them?? I had 2 children who were 3 years apart. If I hadn't had my parents and my sister to help me when they were growing up, I would have jumped off a bridge. Back to the money thing, kids are expensive. They eat, they wear clothes, they have to have a place to sleep, toys, space, privacy, entertainment, outings, birthday parties, school lunches, school trips, school supplies, medicine (not just prescription but stuff that health insurance won't pay for like bandaids and aspirin and cough syrup). Then there is the actual physicality of the situation. I don't know about California but where I come from, there are state laws about how many people can live in a house. It's some formula equating to so many square feet per person and judging from the looks of that house, it won't work.

Then you have just the basics of life. How do you possibly give each of them the attention they deserve and need when you have this many? Do you turn the older kids into nannies and caregivers and maids? How do you keep an eye on that many children? How do you make sure that many children have done their homework, brushed their teeth or even that they are present and accounted for??

I think the doctors who allowed this are at best, irresponsible. One of them stated on TV that they are not "baby police". No, I agree. However, ethics have to come into play at some point. And allowing an unemployed single mother of 6 who lives in a small house with her parents to carry 8 babies to term goes far beyond irresponsible.

My last reason that this was such a bad idea is the health issue for the children. When a baby is born at the weight that her children were born with (a little over a pound each)there are health issues. Underdeveloped vital organs such as lungs, hearts, kidneys. And most importantly brains. How many of these children are going to be "retarded"? It is reported that one of her other children has autism. How many of these babies are going to be besieged with seizures (another potential byproduct of very low birth weight)? How about the ever present asthma or bronchial and/or ear infections that babies like this face? Or a plethora of other very serious health issues that accompany low birth weight?

Again, I am back to health insurance and money. There is no way in the world that a single woman with this many children can work outside the home. For one, who will hire her? For another, how long will she be employed before she gets fired for excessive absences?

As stated, I had 2 children and there were many many times that I could not come to work because one or both of them were sick. There were many many other times that I had to leave work because one of them was sick or their school got out early due to inclimate weather or whatever. How many days will she have to miss with this many children? Especially since my bet is, these 8 babies will have TONS of health issues that will either never go away or will not decrease in frequency until they are well into their elementary years or older.

If ever an agency needed to keep an eye on kids, this is one of them. The Department of Human Services (yep, taxer payer money) needs to keep a very close eye on this situation because however good intended Nadya may be, there is NO way that she will be able to care for this many children either financially, emotionally or physically. There is just NO way.

But that's just me.