Strollerderby : fertility

OctoMom's Kid - Bite Mark And Black Eye

Brett Singer — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:30:00 GMT

This is disturbing.

Social Services paid a visit to Nadya Suleman's home the other day. Surprisingly, this isn't a regular occurrence. They were there to investigate because one of the OctoMom's children, Aidan, had gone to school with a black eye and a bite mark on his back. After a 45 minute interview, investigators left without taking action.

Orange County Child and Family Services and La Habra police did not comment because, you know, things like this are supposed to be confidential. Nadya, however, did an interview with her exclusive outlet, RadarOnline. (Remember when Radar was this hip and cool magazine? Yeah, not anymore.)

In the interview, she managed to make me question her parenting skills even more than I might have previously, which is impressive if you think about it. She tells the interviewer that the social services visit was her fault, because she didn't see the note that Aidan's teacher had pinned to his backpack asking about the injuries. To be fair, I've missed notes as well, but they weren't asking me if my children were participating in after-school cage fights. The scariest line to me is that Aidan's black eye is from "falling down," something he does because he has autism. There's a moment where Nadya says the black eye is from his meltdowns, and "in the process of throwing him... throwing himself on the floor..." I know, it's just a slip, but it's creepy.

As for the bite mark, Nadya says it's from one of his siblings. (To borrow a line from Robin Quivers on the Howard Stern Show, "They're eating each other!")

In the video, you get to see Ms. Suleman attempt to discipline one her kids as he first hits his sibling, then hits the camera. "We're just starting time outs," she says. Seems to be working great. She also tells us that the officials told her they were impressed with how well the family was doing, and "how well-organized her home was." Wow. I don't believe that statement one bit.

I know. It's not fair to criticize parenting skills. Right? Except that she's making these videos on putting them online. Mostly I just feel bad for the kids. There's no way they could possible be getting anything resembing a decent amount of attention from their mother.

Source: AP via Yahoo and RadarOnline

Suleman Cashing In - Trademarks Term Octomom

When Toddlers Attack The Neighbors

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Dad Drives Drunk With Kids In Car

Octo-Mom Home With All Eight Kids - VIDEO

Brett Singer — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:45:00 GMT

Nadya Suleman, the Octo-Mom (do we really need to say that anymore?), has "finally" brought the eighth and final octuplet home to roost. Jonah is his name. (Someone less sensitive than I would make a whale joke here. But I won't.)

RadarOnline has the EXCLUSIVE video of Nadya and the children. The kids are cute. There are a lot of them. She already has six. That makes fourteen.

We know all of this, of course. The question is, do we still care?

Is anyone else surprised at how quickly we seem to have become uninterested in Mme. Suleman? I wonder if whoever signs her up for a TV show is prepared for "Denise Richards – It's Complicated" level ratings. I mean, would you watch an Octo-mom show? Maybe at first, but for how long?

Anyway, here's the video for those who are interested. I sort of am. But I think I've reverted to feeling sorry for the kids, and even slightly sorry for her. Not that I think she didn't create this situation, but, as Hannah wrote, she seems like she might be "crazy in a way that requires compassion and serious psychiatric treatment, not a media campaign, and definitely not a fertility clinic." Well put.

Source: RadarOnline

Another Day, Another Dollar, Another Octomom Exclusive Interview

OctoMom's Second Publicist Quits

Suleman Cashing In - Trademarks Term Octomom

The Secret to Octomom's Expensive Pregnancies

Open Letter To The Woman Who Pushed Me While I Was Picking Up My Kid

Family Awarded Millions For Circumcision Mistake

Woman Will Go Free If Son Comes Back To Life

Ice, Ice Baby: Frozen Sperm Works, 22 Years Later

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:01:00 GMT

After all the crazy stories of fertility treatments gone mad and nutty grandparents trying to extract sperm from the dead, it's refreshing to hear about the everyday miracles advanced reproductive technology can bring to parents who yearn for a child.

Chris Biblis, now 39, was just 17 when his family and doctors encouraged him to freeze sperm for future use; he was undergoing treatement for leukemia at the time, and some of the drugs used were known to cause sterility. This was in 1987, five years before the successful injection of a sperm cell into a human egg. As anyone knows who's had "the talk" with their child, pre-teen or teenager, this subject matter can cause massive embarrassment on both sides. Thank goodness, then, that Biblis's mother was courageous and humane enough to broach the subject because last month Chris and his wife had baby Stella, born to a father now cancer-free for 20 years.

The Biblises have five frozen embryos in case they want to attempt to have more kids. But for now, I'm sure they're still amazed at how fortunate they are that science -- and Stella's grandmother -- could see into a future for that teenager fighting cancer.

More by this author:

Exploited and Discarded? Seeking Protection for Egg Donors

Another Hospital Baby Mix-Up, Now With Added Racism!

Spurred to Action by Natasha Richardson Death, Parents Save Girl

Child Support Suffers in a Recession, Too

Exploited and Discarded? Seeking Protection for Egg Donors

Kate Tuttle — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:01:00 GMT

The new parents beam, the babies gurgle and coo, and People magazine takes a picture of yet another family made possible by egg donation (you don't think all those 45-year-old actresses are just having twins by some crazy coincidence, do you?). But what happens to the woman whose biological material helped make it all possible? Her job done, the egg donor typically recedes into the background, a check for $5,000 (or more, or less) in her hand, gone without a trace.

Now some former donors and other advocates for women's health want that to change. While the Centers for Disease Control keeps track of the number of eggs donated to women facing infertility -- it was more than 15,000 in 2006 -- the donors of those eggs, and information about their health after serving as donors, is not followed in any way. Given that egg donation involves treatment with powerful hormones, many of which carry at least some cancer risk, the lack of follow-up and systematic tracking bothers many.

"Right now egg donors are treated like vendors, not as patients. Patients need to be followed up," Jennifer Schneider told Time magazine. Schneider, a doctor, has become a critic of the way donors are treated ever since losing her own daughter, who donated three times and died of colon cancer at 31.

Even worse, many egg donors appear to lack basic information about even the short-term health risks they're taking on when they agree to donate. From the Time article:

In an article published in Fertility and Sterility in November 2008, researchers found, for example, that 34% of former egg donors didn't recall being aware at the time of donation of the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, the most common side effect. The majority of donors experience at least the mild or moderate form of this syndrome, which involves discomfort, bloating or nausea and usually resolves itself on its own. The severe version of this syndrome is rare - only 100 to 200 for every 100,000 women - but its consequences can include kidney failure and death. And then there are other side effects, such as bleeding, infection and death, which are associated with any surgery performed under general anesthesia. But fully 20% of the 80 donors interviewed said they didn't know there were any physical risks to egg donation at all.

With a growing number of families seeking advanced reproductive technology, and an increasing number of willing donors (motivated at least in part by economic woes, some clinics are reporting a jump of over 50% in the number of prospective donors over last year's numbers), egg donation isn't going away. But it's time to stop treating it as a simple exchange of money for risk, or even money for genetic material. Donors need more information, and clinics need to not only make sure they understand the risks but provide follow-up healthcare, as well as tracking outcomes so that future medical professionals -- and donors -- can understand the actual long-term risks. Right now there are no credible studies that can assess those risks -- the most frightening aspect of which is uterine cancer -- because no registry has ever existed.

Currently the American Society for Reproductive Medicine is consulting with fertility docs on a nonprofit, voluntary registry of both egg and sperm donors, but as recent controversies have made all too clear, self-regulation isn't a strength of the fertility industry (really, of any industry). One hopes that the parents who benefit from the technology that brought them babies will also remember the generosity and courage of the women who provided their eggs and push their clinics for better care and research -- and contact their political representatives to ask for the same from our government.

More by this author:

Another Hospital Baby Mix-Up, Now With Added Racism!

Spurred to Action by Natasha Richardson Death, Parents Save Girl

Child Support Suffers in a Recession, Too

Are Working Mothers (And Fathers) Discriminated Against?

Gloria Allred Sits On A Booster Seat

Brett Singer — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Reading this headline might cause you to think that we're being mean. Before you darn me to heck, though, consider this -- it's true.

W Magazine developed a fascination with Ms. Allred not dissimilar to our own. A key difference is that W Magazine's office is in the same building as Allred's, so staff members at the mono-syllabic-named mag popped in on a recent press conference she had regarding the OctoMom. (Nadya Suleman, perhaps you've heard of her?)

Anyway, among other amusing observations, the editors noticed that the "small and compact" attorney (their words) was seated on an actual booster seat. This one.

What seems odd to me is why Allred wouldn't just get a phone book, or a more grown-up version of a booster seat. Like maybe a pillow. The W editors wonder if "Maybe it's something she picked up from the Suleman kids?" Either that or product placement. Only time will tell.

Image: WMagazine.com

OctoMom's Second Publicist Quits

AUDIO - OctoMom 911 Calls Released

The Dr. Phil And OctoMom Show

OctoMom Video Blog at RadarOnline

OctoMom Rejects Angels In Waiting Offer

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Realities of Discharging Octuplets

Jimmy Kimmel And The Octomom

Brett Singer — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Now that I'm a parent I find that I don't have time to watch late night TV, but Jimmy Kimmel seems to have gotten pretty funny while I was busy with my brood. Luckily I can catch it all in dribs and drabs online. (Note: these are only sort of safe for work/the eyes and ears of your kids, so proceed with some caution.)

Like the rest of us, Kimmel has been taking pot shots at Nadya Suleman, aka the Octomom. Unlike the rest of us, he has a staff of writers and video people. (None of these are examples of tremendously complex comedy but it probably helped to have, you know, help.)

This video is really all about the wax lips that Jimmy puts on (and eventually eats) when he "plays" Nadya Suleman on his late night talk show. So it's a cheap gag, but still kind of funny.

It is a little gross when Jimmy/Nadya pulls out a Mason jar of embryos and sits on them. But again, it's kind of funny in a Beavis/Butthead sort of way. I'm also not sure whether he's talking about Nadya or Dr. Phil when he says he wouldn't "give money to that lunatic."

Jimmy also has video of the birth:

The babies are flyin'. Look out!

And Jimmy looked at the video of Nadya and her mom:

That little edit at the end didn't happen. It's kind of like the scene in 'True Lies', where Ah-nuld imagines punching out the car salesman who was lusting after his wife. Wish fulfillment. Something tells me Nadya's mom wouldn't mind having a DVD of that clip to watch when things get tough.

Image: DailyTube

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Power Ranger Toys For Babies And Adults

Wolverine Blow Up Toy

OctoMom's Second Publicist Quits

OctoMom Video Blog at RadarOnline

New Rick Springfield CD For Kids

AUDIO - OctoMom 911 Calls Released

RENT Too Risqué For Some Schools

Will Ferrell's Landlord Retires From Comedy

Proposed Anti-Octomom Law Stalls, For Now

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:30:00 GMT

A Georgia state bill that would have imposed severe limits on IVF, promoted as a measure to prevent future "Octomom" situations, is unlikely to be passed this year, according to observers. The proposed legislation, which has been sent to a senate subcommittee for further study, would have required doctors and fertility clinics to fertilize no more embryos than they planned to transfer into a woman, and would have limited the number to no more than two or three, depending upon the woman's age. Proponents have suggested that this kind of legislation is sorely needed to protect both women and taxpayers from situations like Nadya Suleman's, in which the transfer of a large number of embryos resulted in a case of super-multiples with no visible means of support.

And we can all get behind that, right?

Well, not so fast. As Slate's William Saletan pointed out in a column this week, the bill, S.B. 169, is really a backdoor attempt to impose the same kind of "personhood" rights on embryos and fetuses that a state legislature in North Dakota recently passed. Under the guise of imposing sanity on the Wild West atmosphere still prevailing in some fertility clinics (and yes, Octomom is pretty much Exhibit A for what's wrong in that world), S.B. 169 would penalize all fertility patients, ban stem-cell research and declare that legally an embryo has rights that should be paramount (over the rights of living, breathing human beings).

Since the stem-cell and "personhood" issues are both facets of the whole reproductive freedom issue and most people have already made up their minds how they feel about them, I think it's most interesting to see how S.B. 169, if it ever were passed, would effect regular people seeking IVF or other fertility treatments. Under the bill's provisions, a mother could only have 2-3 embryos transferred, and due to the bill's "fertilize only as many as you transfer" language, she could not produce other fertilized eggs that could then be frozen and used in subsequent cycles (which is how nearly all current IVF patients proceed). This would vastly reduce the likelihood of success of each IVF cycle since not all fertilized eggs become transferrable blastocycts, and not all of those transferred blastocycts become implanted embryos, and not all of those embryos stick around long enough to become human babies; the more non-medical limitations placedon the number of eggs fertilized, the smaller the pool for even potential success. And given the cost of each IVF cycle, couples would quickly find themselves priced out of the fertility game unless they got very lucky, very early on.

As Saletan says of the bill's limits on egg fertilization:

How does this restriction "protect the mother" and "reduce the risk of complications" for her? It doesn't. If you wanted to protect the woman, you might limit the number of embryos that could be transferred to her womb, not the number that can be created in the dish. In fact, by limiting the number that can be created, you increase her risk of complications. The fewer eggs you fertilize, the lower your chances of producing an embryo healthy enough to be transferred and carried to term. That means a higher failure rate, which in turn means that women will have to undergo more treatment cycles, with the corresponding risks of ovarian hyperstimulation and advancing maternal age.

So why limit the number of embryos created per cycle? Because the bill's chief purpose isn't really to help women. It's to establish legal rights for embryos.

So don't be fooled. This kind of bill will no doubt make its debut in other state legislatures, particularly in states with a strong lobby against reproductive freedom and for embryo rights. If its advocates would come right out and say that's what they're fighting for, I'd have a lot more respect for them. Instead, by using impressive-sounding scientific language and making grand gestures toward women's health and taxpayer's dollars, they're trying to fool the public and use state legislative means to make an end run around Supreme Court precedent. As for women who only want a healthy baby or two, they become the innocent bystanders who stand to get hurt if bills like this pass.

More by this author:

Move Over, Booties! Here Come Knitted Boobies

Think Your Baby's Car Seat Is Safe? Think Again

California Daycare Closed; Worker Was Mocking Kids' Genitals

"Angels in Waiting" Apparently Still Waiting

The Dr. Phil And OctoMom Show

Brett Singer — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:30:00 GMT

Who needs a publicist? Dr. Phil seems to have decided that he's going to ride the OctoMom Express as far as it will take him.

First, he convinced Nadya to accept help from Angels in Waiting. They may be sketchy, but if Dr. Phil says it's the right thing to do, then that's what

Then he visited the octuplets. Here's a clip:

I like the part where he says, "Oh, of course you see them all the time." Because we need to be reminded of that.

And now he's going to reveal what the arrangement is going to be -- but not until his next show! Because he cares about... ratings.

I understand that Dr. Phil is a TV host and he wants to make money. That's fine. But he pretends that he's being somehow helpful. That's not fine. I mean, he has exactly the same license to practice therapy that I do – none. Nadya Suleman needs actual help, and I don't just mean changing all those diapers. I mean, Angelina Jolie can't adopt all eight of her kids, right?

Source: All over the freakin' Internet

Image: Me and Photoshop

OctoMom's Second Publicist Quits

AUDIO - OctoMom 911 Calls Released

Realities of Discharging Octuplets

OctoMom Video Blog at RadarOnline

OctoMom Rejects Angels In Waiting Offer

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

Video: Homecoming For Octomom's Babies!

Angelina Jolie Could Always Use an Extra Baby

OctoMom's Second Publicist Quits

Brett Singer — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:23:00 GMT

Victor Munoz, the second publicist to take on the OctoMom as a client, has quit. He's also talking smack.

From Us Magazine:

"It just got to be too much," he says. "It's pretty much a free for all over there right now. They are freaking out right now.
"Not to sound arrogant, but those people depended on me for everything," he continues. "You have no idea what I’ve had to do for these people.
"Nadya got real greedy. This woman is nuts," he adds. "This I can say: what ultimately destroyed the business arrangement was personal reasons."

Here's the best part:

Munoz -- who plans to meet with his lawyers Monday to go over the terms of his contract and confidentiality clause -- did not go into further detail.

Oh! Well thank goodness he didn't go into any further detail. And I'm sure we're all thrilled that he's going to see what confidential information he can share.

It was never clear to me why Nadya needed a publicist. Anyone who worked for her should have realized that they were getting involved in a situation that was unlikely to end well. Having worked in PR, I can honestly say that sometimes a client is not worth it. In fact, the only thing that can make a difficult client more bearable is money. In this case, how could there be any money to be had? Suleman's previous flack, Joann Killeen, claimed that she was doing the job gratis, and bailed when she received death threats. Now maybe I'm the crazy one here, but when I hear that about an available job that pays nothing and comes with death threats, my first thought isn't, "Hey! Job opening! Cool!"

I guess Nadya's not the only one who likes the drama.

We now return to... the neverending story...

Source: Us Magazine

Image: Me and Photoshop

Realities of Discharging Octuplets

OctoMom Video Blog at RadarOnline

OctoMom Rejects Angels In Waiting Offer

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

OctoMom Loathes Being Pregnant

Realities of Discharging Octuplets

Brett Singer — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Here's a new twist on the neverending OctoMom story -- reality.

According to the blog Reality Rounds, discharging preemies, especially 8 of them, is always something that hospitals have to take very seriously. Caring for a premature baby is more difficult than caring for a child who was full-term. Even with a mother who isn't a quasi-celebrity, the babies aren't necessarily just released when the mother decides it's time to go.

This isn't always the case, however. Shannon says that when she arrived to pick up two preemies that she was adopting, no one did any due diligence to make sure she was able to take care of them. "I certainly wasn't visiting them and proving I could diaper and feed them daily, as I didn't know they were alive until the social worker called and said 'come and get your baby.'" Shannon wonders if this would have been the case if the babies had been white.

And Jeanne suspects that the real reason behind the hospital's reticence is legal in nature. "With a high publicity case like this, the hospital lawyers must be frothing at the mouth," she said.

(Note: we all chat by email about this stuff, that's where the quotes are from. In case you were wondering.)

When Nadya tells Dr. Phil that she is worried that the hospital won't release her babies, she should really be concerned with how exactly she is going to care for them. Babies are a tough job. Eight preemies? The mind boggles.

Source: Reality Rounds (thanks to Alice for the tip)

Image: Me and Photoshop

OctoMom Rejects Angels In Waiting Offer

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

OctoMom Loathes Being Pregnant

UPDATE! Octo-Mom Alert! Police Visits and a Child Services Investigation

Octo-Mom Birth Video to Fetch a Cool Million?

AUDIO - OctoMom 911 Calls Released

Brett Singer — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:02:00 GMT

We already know that Nadya Suleman called 911 when she couldn't find one of her kids. Now we can hear it.

"Help me! My son is missing! I'm going crazy! Where's my son? Where's my son?"

(Visit TMZ to hear the call, or listen to it below.)

It's sad to listen to. Bizarrely fascinating but sad. Most parents will relate to the first call somewhat -- Nadya thinks her five-year-old is missing. The thing is, she loses it completely, saying, "Oh my God, I'm going to kill myself." She is then admonished by the 911 operator to not say something like that in front of her children. "Keep yourself under control." When the kid comes back, says "mommy," it's heartbreaking.

This woman is a mess.

Then comes the second call. One of Nadya's kids calls 911 and hangs up. The 911 operator calls back, talks to the kid, who claims to be in charge of the home, eventually admitting that a babysitter is there. That part is kind of funny. The operator really earns her keep by getting an adult on the phone who says everything is OK.

The common thread between the two calls is chaos. I'm not a fan of chaos. With kids, it happens. With six kids, it probably happens a lot. With fourteen? Do I need to say it?

Forget "reality show." Actual reality has crept into this story.

A commenter over on MomLogic has a theory that I wish I could say I don't take any stock in but it's hard not to at this point: "The movie 'The Changeling' in which Angelina Jolie has scenes where she is frantically beseeching to get her lost son back opened on October 24. Trailers for the movie must have been all over the networks for days. This 911 call came in on Oct 27. Total coincidence, I am sure."

Oy. Vey.

Source: TMZ

Image: Me and Photoshop

OctoMom Video Blog at RadarOnline

OctoMom Rejects Angels In Waiting Offer

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

OctoMom Loathes Being Pregnant

UPDATE! Octo-Mom Alert! Police Visits and a Child Services Investigation

Octo-Mom Birth Video to Fetch a Cool Million?

OctoMom Video Blog at RadarOnline

Brett Singer — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

I don't want to be mean here. I really don't. But I'm starting to feel sorry for Nadya Suleman and her children.

I really think she needs help. I don't mean financial help. Help from a doctor not named Phil.

In a new video blog posted exclusively at RadarOnline, she says "I want to be private." She means that she doesn't want people to know where she lives, because clearly she doesn't want to be, you know, actually private. "Being in the field I'm in, I know there's a lot of emotionally disturbed people in the world…I have trust issues."

She's not worried about anything, she's not overwhelmed. She's hiring help. The other moms are supportive, everything is FINE.

What?

You see her interacting with her children, who don't seem all that happy. The tape feels like an audition reel for a reality show.

Other highlights, in case you can't bear to watch the video:

-   New house, a rental. "I'm doing it myself," meaning no help from anyone. Unclear how it's possible to rent a 2800 square foot house with no job.
-    MSNBC says that the video "shows Suleman struggling to speak as one of her older six kids bites her, pulls her hair and slaps her in the face," but I didn't see anything terribly unusual. I mean, the kids don't look thrilled by the camera and are eventually ushered out of the room (presumably to a very weary grandmother, but you don't see that). Still, the kids' behavior looks like a kid trying to get mommy's attention.
-   This part I will just quote: "Suleman said her older children are already jealous of the octuplets. When a friend showed the kids a picture of their new siblings, 'they hit the picture,' Suleman said." Oy vey.

Also bizarre are her hand-written blog entries. In this one she talks about meeting Dr. Phil. (Because that's really what a mother of 14 should be thinking about.) By not typing her entries for her, Radar clearly wants us to see Nadya's nutty side. (Read the PDF file here.)

It's all fairly disturbing, actually. Hard to look, hard to look away.

Source: MSNBC, RadarOnline

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

Really Wanna Let Octomom Have it? Leave Her Alone

"Angels in Waiting" Apparently Still Waiting

OctoMom Loathes Being Pregnant

OctoMom Rejects Angels In Waiting Offer

Brett Singer — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:05:00 GMT

According to RadarOnline, Nadya OctoMom Suleman has rejected an offer from the group Angels In Waiting to "provide her with a temporary new home for six months."

Angels offer was pretty sweet. According to Radar: "around the clock individualized care by pediatric nurses and other early intervention professionals for her octuplets and their six other siblings." This is in addition to giving them A PLACE TO LIVE. Remember that the house she currently lives in -- her parents' -- is facing foreclosure.

Gloria Allred is all red with frustration -- actually, I don't know if that's true but I wanted to write that. Sorry. We'll learn how she feels later today when the attorney to the weird gives a press conference.

I can understand not accepting help from people for various reasons. In this case, I think Suleman should take what she can get, especially since she's already asking for help from anyone who is willing. So why turn this one down? Is it that she doesn't like Allred? She also seems to be rejecting offers of help from Denis Beaudoin, who said he'd give Nadya some money even if he wasn't the father. Can she really afford to be so, you know, choosy?

Commenter FoxyMoxie (thanks for the tip!) says that Allred will discuss the "'disturbing' phone conversations" she has had with the OctoMom. I mean, will this thing ever end?

Source: RadarOnline

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

Really Wanna Let Octomom Have it? Leave Her Alone

"Angels in Waiting" Apparently Still Waiting

OctoMom Loathes Being Pregnant

Brett Singer — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:00:00 GMT

When lawyers represent mostly accident victims, we call them ambulance chasers. What about a shrink who only wants to talk to screwed up people who get lots of media coverage? We need a name for them. Oh wait -- there is one. Dr. Phil.

Yes, the man that Oprah unleashed on the world is at it again. This time he's chatting with Nadya Suleman. You know. The OctoMom! Where ya been, people? This is the only important news story in the world right now. Pay attention.

Here's a little video to whet your appetite:

Doesn't she sound like a delusional 'American Idol' contestant? It's not that you're single. It's that you're single, intentionally had TONS of babies, and have no way to support them. It's irresponsible. How much time could you possibly be spending with any of your kids, the six you already had or the octuplets, if you're always out doing interviews?

This quote was the one that got me:

When Dr. Phil asked her if she was addicted to being pregnant, Nadya responding [sic] saying, no, she absolutely loathes being pregnant and she looked into adoption after her third pregnancy.

She LOATHES being pregnant. So…why do it again? And again? (Reminds me of another Dr. Phil 'patient', Britney Spears -- 'Oops, I did it again / I had 8 more kids…')

And by the way. Of course you loathed being pregnant. You were pregnant with eight babies! That's like carrying around a Humvee in your stomach!

Having never been pregnant, I can safely say that I have no idea how it feels. But many of the women I've spoken to say that they do love it, at least at times. The baby kicking, the life growing inside of you -- that sort of thing.

Since I have no idea, I'll ask the moms out there -- did you "loathe" being pregnant like Nadya?

Source: EverythingOprah

Image: Me

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

OctoMom Receives Death Threats

VIDEO-OctoMom And Doctor From Two Years Ago

UPDATE: GMA Snags an Interview with The Octuplet’s Baby Daddy!

Really Wanna Let Octomom Have it? Leave Her Alone

VIDEO-Octo Mom Publicist On GMA

What Octo-Mom Is Spending The Money On

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

OctoMom Says Denis Beaudoin is Not OctoDad

Brett Singer — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:00:00 GMT

So you know that interview with Denis Beaudoin where he claimed to be the OctoDad? Nadya Suleman says that his pants, they are on fire. By that I mean he's lying, according to OctoMom. Suleman's new spokesperson Victor Munoz says that "Denis is definitely not the father."

What nobody is denying is that Denis donated sperm to Suleman on three different occasions. According to OctoPublicist Munoz, Denis twice "gave Suleman a sperm sample at home, which she held between her breasts to keep warm." Then a THIRD time, Denis "was brought to a fertility clinic after Suleman told him she had cancer and they were going to see a doctor." The sperm was placed directly into her womb, there were no embryos created, aaaaand… that's it. I'm done.

OK, one more detail. David Solomon is listed as the father of the oldest of Nadya's first 6 children, and Munoz says that there is one father for all 14 kids. But he won't confirm or deny that said father is Solomon.

Oh, and the hospital might not release the octuplets to Nadya. Seems they're concerned that she won't be able to care for them properly. So she called Dr. Phil. No. Really.

AHHHH!!!!

I'd call this a train wreck, but that's insulting because I kind of like trains. But I have to admit that I'm fascinated because there seem to be more details every other minute. It truly is… the never ending story.

Too much drama. Having kids is dramatic enough. Why include all of this other crap?

Source: ABC News

Image: Me, using Photoshop, using this from Amazon

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

OctoMom Receives Death Threats

VIDEO-OctoMom And Doctor From Two Years Ago

UPDATE: GMA Snags an Interview with The Octuplet’s Baby Daddy!

Really Wanna Let Octomom Have it? Leave Her Alone

VIDEO-Octo Mom Publicist On GMA

What Octo-Mom Is Spending The Money On

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

Gloria Allred Offers To Help OctoMom

Brett Singer — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:47:00 GMT

Remember Gloria Allred? No? Lucky you.

She's an attorney with a knack for representing clients involved with high-profile cases, such as Amber Frey (Scott Peterson), and the family of Nicole Brown Simpson (O.J.). She also made headlines when she took the controversial stance of questioning Michael Jackson's parenting skills. (That was sarcasm.) She actually went so far as to request that California Child Protective Services investigate how he treats his kids. (That, unfortunately, is true.)

Well, the media-loving lawyer is back and she wants to help out OctoMom Nadya Suleman's kids. MomLogic reports that Allred has a "plan to 'provide for the medical and emotional needs'" of all 14 members of her brood.

Through the charity Angels In Waiting, Allred says that the family can receive the help that they need without relying on public funds, although they will need private donations.

While it's obvious that Allred is a publicity hound (there are other, less polite words one could use, of course), Angels In Waiting seems to be a worthy organization. (Note: I haven't done a lot of research into the group, just a cursory skimming of their web site.) So in theory there is a positive outcome from Allred's actions. Still, why not be a champion for children all the time? Why does it only matter when there's a camera around? The OctoMom story is fascinating, but it's also very sad. The last thing those kids need is someone else trying to get famous off of them.

What do you think – is Allred legit? Or should she, you know, quit? (Apologies for the extremely dated reference.)

Image/Source: MomLogic

OctoMom Receives Death Threats

VIDEO-OctoMom And Doctor From Two Years Ago

Really Wanna Let Octomom Have it? Leave Her Alone

VIDEO-Octo Mom Publicist On GMA

What Octo-Mom Is Spending The Money On

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

OctoMom Says No Dating For Her

Brett Singer — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Remember the movie "The Neverending Story"? Nadya Suleman is starring in a real-life version.

Every day, heck, every hour, there a new detail emerges. I have two kids and never have enough time to do the things I need to do. Suleman, with six at home and eight more in the hospital, seems to have plenty of time to do interviews with anyone who wants her. (Maybe we should take Shannon's advice.)

ParentDish reports that the OctoMom told British newspaper The Sun that she will not date anyone until her youngest child turns 18. (Does that mean all eight of the new ones? Or just the kid that came out last? The mind boggles.)

She also said that she "can't remember" the last time she went on a date. Um, Nadya? You've said that you met the father/donor of your numerous offspring at a nightclub. Did that not count as a date? Maybe it was Girls' Night Out. ("Let's go, GNO…" – or should that be GYNO? G'night, ladies and gentlemen.)

So no hanky-panky for OctoMom for the next 18 years, adding to the 8 years that she has already done without. I guess The Bachlorette will have to look elsewhere for their next star.

Her reasoning is equally bizarre. "Boyfriends? I think I'd have to be extremely selfish. I cannot maintain a social life and be a mother. To even take one percent of every night and devote it to someone else, a stranger, would be wrong. I have to wait for that until my youngest have left school."

Is there a point when a journalist is going to ask Nadya about the charges leveled against her by, you know, her own mom and dad? That whole "she doesn't take care of the six kids she already has" thing? I guess not.

Source: ParentDish

Image

VIDEO-OctoMom And Doctor From Two Years Ago

Really Wanna Let Octomom Have it? Leave Her Alone

VIDEO-Octo Mom Publicist On GMA

What Octo-Mom Is Spending The Money On

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

OctoMom Receives Death Threats

Brett Singer — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:00:00 GMT

I'm no fan of Nadya "OctoMom" Suleman, the OctoDoc, and I particularly dislike her publicists.

But death threats?

According to ETOnline (and every other news outlet on the planet, because there is NOTHING ELSE HAPPENING IN THE WORLD), OctoMom and her kids have gone into hiding because of "several hostile telephone and email messages." The octuplets are still in the hospital.

Publicist Michael Furtney actually uses the term "undisclosed location" when describing where Suleman is. We don't like him.

Bottom line: I think that people who send a threatening emails or makes hostile phone calls to Nadya, or anyone else, are reprehensible and should be arrested (assuming those threats are illegal; I'm not a lawyer, although I have played one on TV, sort of – long story). At the same time, I imagine Suleman could have cut down on the number of hateful messages she is receiving by not doing national television interviews. Setting up a web site didn't help either. Just a thought.

SOURCE

The Poor Man's Angelina Jolie?

Ann Curry Scores Interview with Octuplet's Mom

VIDEO-Octo Mom Publicist On GMA

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

Octuplet Mom Launches Donation Website

Octomom and Her Bulging Pregnant Belly – Photos!

Only Child Syndrome Doesn't Explain Octo-Mom

OctoDoc Under Investigation

Brett Singer — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:00:00 GMT

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is investigating Dr. Michael Kamrava for implanting a heckuva lot of embryos into Nadya "OctoMom" Suleman.

The California Medical Board was already investigating the OctoDoc, and they had not made his name public. But as we pointed out yesterday, local news outlet KTLA interviewed Kamrava and his baby-loving patient in 2006. In her interview with Ann Curry, Suleman said that the same doc performed all of her IVF procedures. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

Dr. Kamrava allegedly implanted eight embryos into Suleman. According to reports, "No more than three embryos are considered the norm for a woman her age." So OctoDoc may have done something very naughty.

Is anyone else a little stunned at the speed this story is happening? It really feels like every day a couple of new details emerge. Sorry to be catty but I bet Nadya is loving every minute of it. Sad.

Source: ThisIsLondon

Image: SpiderVillian.com

The Poor Man's Angelina Jolie?

Ann Curry Scores Interview with Octuplet's Mom

VIDEO-Octo Mom Publicist On GMA

Octuplet Mom Wants TV Career

They Say: Fertility Drugs Not Linked to Ovarian Cancer

Kate Tuttle — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:01:00 GMT

A major study has confirmed earlier findings that drugs used in fertility treatment are not associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer, according to an article in the New York Times. Although the study did not rule out any link with cancer -- in particularly, it echoed it offered reassurance to women alarmed by earlier research linking a rare but often deadly cancer to certain fertility medications.

From the article:

“The message to give clinicians and patients is that over all these data provide further evidence that fertility drugs do not increase the risk of ovarian cancer to any great extent,” said Allan Jensen, an assistant professor of cancer epidemiology at the Danish Cancer Society and the first author of the paper. The senior author was Susanne Krüger Kjaer.

Dr. Jensen added, “You should always balance a possible small increase in ovarian cancer risk with the physical and psychological benefits of pregnancy made possible only by use of these drugs.”

The study, one of the largest ever to address the issue, looked at more than 50,000 patients seeking fertility treatment in Denmark between 1963 and 1998.

More By This Author:

Little Girl with Bowel Disease Kept Alive on Donated Breastmilk

They Say: More Abuse, Neglect Among Bottle-Feeding Moms

Does Obama's Election Mean Black Kids Now Have "No Excuses"?

Man Kills Family, Self, After Layoffs

If You Want to Get Pregnant, Go to Myrtle Beach

Jen Chaney — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:02:00 GMT

You may have heard the stories about the fertility statues that allegedly have a knack for knocking up any woman that comes in contact with them. How much of a knack? Since the West African pieces were acquired by Ripley Entertainment in 1993, more than 2,000 ladies have reportedly gotten pregnant after touching the wooden father, mother and their newborn babe.

The five-foot-tall figures are currently on tour again. After stops in New York, Grand Prairie, Tex., Williamsburg, Va., and Orlando, Fla., they are currently stationed at the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium in Myrtle Beach for the entire month of February. Now, if you're like me, you're thinking: Wait, am I supposed to seriously think that I could get pregnant by visiting an exhibit ... in an Odditorium?

Well, as this video attests, some moms swear that the statues are at least partly responsible for the conception of their children. And the fact that 13 women who worked at Ripley's headquarters in Florida, where the statues lived in the early '90s, all got pregnant is undeniably a pretty amazing coincidence

Of course, the folks at Ripley's officially say that they cannot "guarantee anything." But if you're in the Myrtle Beach area -- or you'll be in one of these other cities the statues plan to visit in the coming months -- and haven't had any success starting a family, I guess it wouldn't hurt to swing by and gently place a hand on them. Just don't be surprised if there is a long line of women (and men -- supposedly it can help guys in the fertility game as well) attempting to do the exact same thing

Image: Ripley's Entertainment

Innie or Outie, a Sign of Fertility?

JeanneSager — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:34:00 GMT

The bump or button left behind on your daughter's belly after the umbilical stump falls off could tell you whether you're destined to be a granny.

A University of Finland researcher says the belly button is more than just the cute thing your tot is showing off when she lifts up her shirt every five minutes. It's a sign of "mating potential" in fertile women.

And we just though it was there to pop out in the ninth month to tell us when the baby was done cooking!

Aki Sinkkonen at the University of Helsinki published an article this month in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal theororizing that the shape of the belly button is linked to a woman's fertility: "I suggest that the symmetry, shape, and position of umbilicus can be used to estimate the reproductive potential of fertile females, including risks of certain genetically and maternally inherited fetal anomalies."

The belly button is essentially a scar, signifying how the body reacted to the loss of the umbilical cord stump. It seems to serve no other purpose, Sinkkonen says, one of the reasons she's begun floating her theory (note, a theory, NOT a fact) about innie as fertility signal.

So here's my big question - if it's all about a woman's fertility, why do boys have belly buttons?

Image: GeoParent

Pulling the Plug on Plural Pregnancies

JeanneSager — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:31:00 GMT

The birth this week of octuplets was amazing not just to the world at large but to the doctors who'd been tracking the pregnancy. Could that mean multiple pregancies have gotten out of hand?

It's what some OB/GYNs are saying - that perhaps it's time to reduce the chances a woman will get pregnant with multiples.

The risks of carrying multiples have proven to be higher for both mom and baby. There are higher rates of fetal loss and premature births, which make for increased chances of medical problems down the road for the kids. It also makes it rough for fertility experts - who make it their mission to help their patients have a healthy baby. Because the point - as any parent knows - isn't just to get pregnant.

The key seems to be in melding the missions of both parents' and physicians' - and that might mean a reduction in the growing trend of multiple births. Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill-Cornell Medical Center told the Daily News this week that his doctors are opting to implant fewer embryos in women's uteruses - if all of them "take," there will still be a smaller number of babies living off of the mother and higher chances of successful pregnancies.

It's a practice that's begun more common around the world. In September, the British Fertility Society and the Association of Clinical Embryologists issued new guidelines for clinicians in the UK, pushing for clinics to reduce multiple pregnancy rates from an average of twenty-four percent to ten percent over the next three years. UK docs have also been banned from implanting any more than two embryos in the uterus of women over forty.

The question is whose choice it should be?

With fewer embryos implanted, also upped is the chance that these embryos won't become fetuses and that a mother will have to go through the process all over again. Fertility drugs have also been blamed for the increase in multiples (the new mom of eight and her doctors have remained mum on whether she took fertility drugs), but without them, many couples would lose their chance to become parents.

Should doctors be focused on scaling back these multiples - or should that rest in the hands of the patient?

Image: BBC

Morning News: Beating the Odds, Beating it Back to Work, Beating the Clock

Madeline Holler — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Unemployment rose in every single state in December and another group of big corporations announced huge, huge layoffs. Nobody's buying anything anymore. Does anybody else feel a little manic-depressive after all the excitement of last week's inauguration and all of this week's depressing economic news?

No, no, we haven't lost hope. We're just settling in for the long haul and looking for some happier news. Especially in light of this tragic story:

A Los Angeles-area man killed his wife and six kids -- and then himself yesterday -- in what looks like a response to having been laid off from his job at Kaiser Permanente. His wife had also lost her job there.

This next story might make some educators and college students out there happy: the economic stimulus plan that Congress is scheduled to vote on today includes gobs of money for K-12 schools and also colleges and universities. This kind of federal cash infusion is unusual, since paying for educational institutions is mostly left up to the states (who, by the way, are pretty broke).

Speaking if education, Dr. Jill Biden, VP Joe Biden's wife, is back in the classroom. (There she is in the pic.) She's teaching ESL and developmental English at Northern Virginia Community College. Love that.

SCHIP, the children's health insurance plan for low and middle-income children, is stalled again. Legislators are quibbling over income requirements and whether the children of immigrants qualify. Meanwhile, some diabetic third-grader is wondering whether she'll get another batch of insulin this month. Pathetic.

Let's talk about sex. Newsweek is reporting on a new fertility ad campaign coming to your favorite social networking website. Expect to see dire warnings about shriveling eggs when you're updating your status on Facebook. Yes, the brains beind this campaign know they're going to offend, but they're willing to suffer the criticism since they're certain reminding women of their biological clocks is for a girl's own good.

This one is for the guys: frequent sex and masturbation increases your risk for prostate cancer. This comes as cringey news for anybody who had a grandfather treated for prostate cancer. Oh, and no word on whether caring professionals will be hitting the social networking circuit with this life or death news for men.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is kind of grossing a lot of people out with their new ad. Acted and shot as porn, lots of hot sexy women in lingerie lick and fondle vegetables. NBC is refusing to run the ad during the Superbowl. Which is great because that leaves more time to run lots of hot sexy women in lingerie licking and fondling beer bottles.

We'll follow porn with a little Dick Van Dyke Q&A that takes us behind the scenes of Mary Poppins (hey! We're a family website.) Turns out, DVD got the part not because he could sing and walk like a penguin, but because he had been outspoken about how unfamily-friendly entertainment had become (in 1964? Was it all that moppy hair?). Oh, oh, scroll to the bottom of the interview. He said he's glad Michelle Obama liked the Dick Van Dyke Show (which he did with Mary Tyler Moore). He calls the Obama's "the black Rob and Laura." Bad news, Dick. We think the president and his wife share a bed.

Photo: eplay.com

Vatican to Women: The Pill Pollutes Environment, His Testes

JeanneSager — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:01:00 GMT

Sometimes being a Catholic is all about ducking your head in shame and saying, "this is not my life."

Because the boys in the Vatican - you know the ones, they don't have sex - have come out with another decree about the woman's body. This time, it's the way our contraceptive pill is harming everyone else, and men worst of all.

As if we didn't know already that each little round pill popped out of the foil packet was destroying the world 28 days at a time by preventing the creation of more Catholic babies, now it's apparently sending toxins out to destroy the earth via our urine. The hardest hit? The male reproductive system.

"We have sufficient evidence to state that a non-negligible cause of male infertility in the West is the environmental pollution caused by the pill," Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations," said in the report.

Bear with me here. A report just printed in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano says the pill makes women pee toxins. Which hurt the environment. Which makes men infertile.

Ah yes, making sense now. Because as any good Catholic girl knows, it all comes back to making babies. Which is why this one and done Mom is now a casual Catholic (well, one of the reasons).

I know pointing to the lack of baby-making experience anywhere inside the Vatican is an easy mark, but that doesn't make it any less true. As long as the church wants to focus its attentions on contraception and conception rather than equality between the sexes, as long as the misogynistic approach toward women's choices remains the Holy See's holy sayings, I'm wondering how they expect to retain credibility on a global scale.

Image/Source: Yahoo