Mother gives birth to octuplets in SoCal hospital

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | (01-26) 16:27 PST

[Sender]

With 8 babies in diapers, 8 babies hungry in the night at different times, 8 babies waking each other up at different times and 8 loads of laundry, the only way this mother will survive is to have a lot of family help and a generous helping of outside charity. She will probably end up on TV with the brood often. Maybe Gerber or Enfamil will sponsor her. God help her when they all start to drive at the same time... There will be one heck of a birthday party each year. I recommend Xanax or Lexapro for the mother. Psychotherapy for the father. God’s grace for the grandparents. Fertility drugs, into the trashcan.

[pillut48]

Fertility drugs, into the trashcan. That's like saying "All automobiles, into the trashcan" or "All airplanes, into the trashcan" after accidents! When used responsibly, and proper monitoring is done by REAL reproductive endocrinologists and not just an ob/gyn who took an extra hour course to have 'fertility expert' tacked on their diploma, the statistics IIRC are something like 98% singletons, 1.something% twins, and the remainder is the greater multiples when fertility treatment is successful!! You don't read about the thousands of parents who are blessed with a single baby after treatment for this horrifying disease--just the extreme cases--just like you don't hear about the thousands of car accidents that happen in this country every day. Too boring!!! But when it's something big, the MSM is all over it!!! I'm VERY grateful to God for giving humanity the knowledge of fertility drugs and proper, supervised medical supervision. I'm be a childless mother otherwise, and like some other posters here said--I wouldn't wish that destiny on my worst enemy!!

[pillut48]

Here's an old chart about multiples chances/results--you'd be surprised at how small the amount of greater multiples (trips, quads, quints, sextuples, septuplets, and octuplets) is!! Trying to find a more recent chart, but I don't want to pay for a subscription to JAMA! :-)
http://www3.telus.net/tyee/multiples/3various.html

Okay, here's one through the CDC website--http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/multiple.htm

[BruceysMom]

Five confirmed miscarriages. One at 3 months, my heart was so broken. I never was able to carry a baby to term. Thanks for the hug, I needed it. This is an ache that never goes away.

[Sender]

True, I didn’t mean that fertility drugs were bad, just that this woman is probably done with them.

[pillut48]

There was also 8 placentas connected to the mother inside the uterus (not sure if there were any babies sharing placentas) so all of that has to be accounted for or the mother could hemorrhage which could be deadly for her.

[pillut48]

I will!! Thank you. :*)

[pillut48]

I'm so sorry about your losses!! Each one was precious in the eyes of God, and has now touched the face of Jesus. ((((Hugs))) I have autoimmune disease which attacks my pregnancies and is countered by taking (of all things) a simply daily low dose/baby aspirin to prevent blood clotting issues...wish we'd known then about that, BUT then I wouldn't have the 3 children I have today! I had 3 confirmed losses during treatment, 1 I know of before we started...2 of mine were what is called 'missed abortions' (isn't that a horrible label?? :*( where we had already had 2 ultrasounds showing nice strong heartbeats, then at the beginning of second trimesters (also around 3 months along) went in for regular checkups and NO heartbeats--then had to wait for 'nature to take care of things' (could have had surgery but I already had too much scar tissue from endometriosis and didn't want more)--having to walk around for a few weeks with your unliving babies inside you--again, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!! :*( :*( We were EXTREMELY fortunate that the hospital has a program called "Healing Matters" that preserves lost babies until each May, then they are buried in a small mass grave with a real funeral ceremony at a local cemetery that donated the grave sites (they have the funerals every year for the past decade, very nice closure for grieving parents and siblings, etc)--both of my babies are there...I couldn't imagine having them 'disposed of' as other places do!! :*(

[pillut48]

Oh, I am so sure she is! :-)
May God bless all her babies with good health!

[BruceysMom]

Thank you for sharing with me. I don’t wish what we’ve been through on anyone but it’s nice to know I’m not alone. My church, which should’ve helped me, kept trying to find out what sin I had committed to cause me to be “barren”. What a horrible word. There is still a part of me that blames myself. I knew I had to leave that church when I kept thinking “If ONE more person tells that Sarah had a baby at 99, I’m going to punch ‘em.” LOL!

[pillut48]

No, you aren't alone!! God is with you, ALWAYS!!! :*)

I'm sorry that the people at that church didn't understand the Word of God better. You should have found comfort in there, not chastisement. :*(

I remember feeling that maybe I should have done something, ANYTHING to prevent the deaths of my babies, but that was an exercise in uselessness--my condition only 'kicks in' when I am pregnant, how was I or the doctors to know??

You are not to blame--remember the story in the Bible about the blind man? The disciples asked Jesus what sin he or his parents had committed for him to be punished with blindness--the answer was "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him."

I hope you can take some comfort in knowing that God has a special plan for you, and someday your questions will be answered. {{Hugs}}

[ReagansShinyHair]

How can that be controlled?

It's simple, but expensive. The doctors monitor the woman's follicle counts through ultrasound. Or, the doctors prevent the woman from ovulating, then harvest the eggs at the appropriate time. Then they only fertilize a set number of eggs.