tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post8930573985268951213..comments2024-03-14T01:22:29.342-05:00Comments on The Preemie Experiment: OctupletsThePreemie Experimenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15882375368535807238noreply@blogger.comBlogger196125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-2045452294079073932009-03-05T19:58:00.000-05:002009-03-05T19:58:00.000-05:00Funny you say that Terri ! I thought the same exac...Funny you say that Terri ! I thought the same exact thing - great or deranged minds must think alike. She has three kids who (according to her) were all FT healthy kids who have issues (speech, spectrum etc) - that is a bizarre percentage of issues 50 percent of her kids have problems. Why isn't the media focusing on THAT issue ? The data is out there if any journalist wanted to dig, that ART carries risks BEYOND prematurity and HOM. But - nope, not a peep. Based on her previous experience, she can be expected to have 7 special needs kids. Can you EVEN imagine. I would be shredding the hem of my garment and sobbing. Bleh.<BR/><BR/>SheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-63916768556077262732009-03-05T09:20:00.000-05:002009-03-05T09:20:00.000-05:00You're right - she does not ever look sleep depriv...You're right - she does not ever look sleep deprived or stressed, which again reiterates that she just doesn't get the gravity of this mess.<BR/><BR/>I keep thinking as I've watched her now in a couple of interviews -she really is quite verbal, but really lacks common sense, is very self-focused, has extremely poor "executive functioning" skills (cannot grasp the gravity of the situation or how to plan for the care needed of these babies). . .my daughter, who has NLD would be exactly, and I mean EXACTLY like her in this situation. She wants what she wants, but cannot for the life of her, see how this impacts others. Completely self-focused. Frustrating - you betcha!<BR/><BR/>I know that many people are falling all over themselves trying to find a diagnosis for this mom. .but with her already having a child on the autism spectrum, it is possible that this mother, herself is on the autism spectrum.terri w/2https://www.blogger.com/profile/12300679169642744506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-1206773229132483482009-03-04T18:36:00.000-05:002009-03-04T18:36:00.000-05:00I was not surprised by the 911 tapes (big news her...I was not surprised by the 911 tapes (big news here because she's a local) ... but then, I very well know that you pretty much have to be bringing your tricks home while your kids play in the next room or do methamphetamine on the coffee table while your kids are watching cartoons to have DCFS take action here in SoCal. They will flat out say "if there's no physical harm - we have bigger fish to fry". It disturbs me that radaronline is giving her a video blog - while I understand the tabloid "journalism" mentality ... I'm sickened that they don't refrain from doing this because it provides this sick, sick mother with the public platform she so desperately wants. To hear her say "This is Nadya Suleman and welcome to my life !" was truly a sad moment for me. I had hoped that all the negative press would shame her into a different plan .. but nope ! She intends according to one video entry to have the octuplets in the master bedroom of her new house. She said it's a huge room "big enough for all of them" ... I shook my head and thought - NO ROOM is big enough for 9 people to sleep in. It is clear that she hasn't given a single thought to how the day to day will be managed when she had 8 newborn preemies at home with 6 young kids. She keeps saying that she has a lot of help on deck - but how will that work ? Where will you sleep while your helpers are caring for the infants ? In the room of your 2, 3 and 4 year olds ? Maybe she's lucky and all her kids crash early and soundly and sleep 10 hours - but MY toddlers were up all night A LOT !<BR/>She doesn't EVER look sleep deprived or stressed - her MOTHER looks more like someone caring for 6 young children. I cannot even imagine how this is going to play out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-60477429559703683072009-03-04T17:02:00.000-05:002009-03-04T17:02:00.000-05:00Sheila wrote: "Thanks for sharing that. I keep thi...Sheila wrote: "Thanks for sharing that. I keep thinking my drove facination for this train wreck of a story will wane ... but 5 weeks into it - I still can't look away."<BR/><BR/>I'm right there with you (and Helen). <BR/><BR/>I was watching the news this morning and they mentioned that the police had been called to her house many times over the past year for missing kids, trapped kids and concerned neighbors over the health of the kids. Apparently nothing was done. I wonder if the environment was really fine or just that the system is taxed already and her situation was better than others in the system. <BR/><BR/>I am still very sickened by the entire chain of events.ThePreemie Experimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15882375368535807238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-33097486330762944122009-03-02T14:39:00.000-05:002009-03-02T14:39:00.000-05:00There is another issue that has just been driving ...There is another issue that has just been driving me nuts since I first heard it. Anyone who is still following this thread has probably seen Dr. Jamie Grifo interviewed repeatedly on this topic, well specifically on the ethical guidelines of ART. I saw an interview with him about a week ago that really stuck with me - he said a formal review of the alledged MD in the Suleman case has yielded that his practice achieved a "10 percent" success rate for the last calendar year data was available for - FAR lower than the national average for IVF treatment. So ... then ... tell me, HOW is it possible that this doctor had been 100 percent sucessful with Nadya ? Not once, but 7 times ? Something is rotten in Denmark. I have wondered WHY the MD she named as "guilty" has not been the subject of more media or governmental scrutiny ... could it be that perhaps, he has some ability to document that he is NOT the guilty party ? I remember when this story first broke that there was speculation that Suleman had perhaps travelled across the border for treatment. Maybe. I just don't understand how an MD with 10 percent stats hits grand slam after grand slam with one patient. It just seems hard to reckon.<BR/>SheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-20031128511963662722009-03-02T12:50:00.000-05:002009-03-02T12:50:00.000-05:00Wow Helen !Thanks for sharing that. I keep thinki...Wow Helen !<BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing that. I keep thinking my drove facination for this train wreck of a story will wane ... but 5 weeks into it - I still can't look away.<BR/><BR/>I think the reason for this, is that my concern/facination is LESS about Ms. Suleman and her litter and MORE about the issues in the larger sociological / cultural backdrop.<BR/><BR/>SheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-2459051945642250372009-03-01T23:40:00.000-05:002009-03-01T23:40:00.000-05:00From Helen Harrison to anyone still reading:check ...From Helen Harrison to anyone still reading:<BR/><BR/>check this out!<BR/><BR/>http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2009/03/octomom.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-39800959698286157772009-02-28T13:08:00.000-05:002009-02-28T13:08:00.000-05:00Helen Harrison to Terri:And it was all to inflate ...Helen Harrison to Terri:<BR/><BR/>And it was all to inflate the (short-term) survival statistics of a NICU!<BR/><BR/>Torturing a baby! <BR/><BR/>There really ought to be some sort of human right's abuse group to investigate this sort of moral outrage. Where is PETA or Amnesty International?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-34388366727542328972009-02-28T10:07:00.000-05:002009-02-28T10:07:00.000-05:00Helen said:"I believe that this poor child must ha...Helen said:<BR/><BR/>"I believe that this poor child must have had over 50,000 painful interventions in her short little life - one that was a battle with sepsis, multiple surgeries, NEC, ROP, reflux, IVs, suctioning, endless blood work, central lines - only to succumb a few months later."<BR/><BR/>What is the difference between this type of neonatal experimentation and the horrific experimentation on infants/children in Nazi Germany (coincidentally, many of them twins)??<BR/><BR/>Torture is torture is torture, regardless of the intent. This baby was suffering! And, no one could stop it. Naziism cloaked as neonatal "care".terri w/2https://www.blogger.com/profile/12300679169642744506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-36612230433135274322009-02-27T15:24:00.000-05:002009-02-27T15:24:00.000-05:00Hi HelenYour probably right that there are just a ...Hi Helen<BR/><BR/>Your probably right that there are just a few of us lingering on this topic - but the point you illuminate in the nurses story is an important one. While most cannot control their outrage from bubbling up and spewing forth regarding octomom ... we MUST face the fact that as unbearable as her story may be - there is no clear roadmap for what to do when the ethics of scientific reproduction intersect a woman's inate reproductive freedom. Does society automatically get to pick family size if you are unable to conceive naturally if so - why ? Should we think about abridging everyones reproductive rights tying them some how to class and financial status ? Or unilaterally a la the Chinese govt. <BR/><BR/>The thing which is truly, truly heinous to me in this scenario, is that IF she had only had twins or even triplets ... she would have taken those babies home to her overcrowded house, with no income and help or support beyond her overwhelmed parents and NOBODY would know unless and until they somehow came under the scruitiny of DCFS. Yet I think the average person would reject the notion that one unemployed, unsupported mother could appropriately care for 8 or 9 children under the age of 8, several with special needs. <BR/>One thing which keeps bugging me is that Nadya has *repeatedly* said that she had 5 or 6 embryos transferred with every pregnancy. If this is true (and I'm guessing it is since no one has come forward to call her out as a liar - and certainly if it could be proved a lie the MD would do it, since he HAS to be in hot water even over doing it alledgedly "once" ... Then someone should be making a big deal about the fact that "guidelines" aren't guiding - if MD's are willy nilly ignoring them. <BR/><BR/>This whole story is an all-day-sucker version of an ethics problem.<BR/><BR/>SheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-62131521079261851312009-02-27T14:38:00.000-05:002009-02-27T14:38:00.000-05:00Helen Harrison writes:I suspect only a few of us a...Helen Harrison writes:<BR/><BR/>I suspect only a few of us are still following this thread, but it reminds me, sadly, of another event from last fall that described to me by a neonatal nurse practitioner. <BR/><BR/>It seems to me to be another case of reproduction and NICU run amok, with much collatoral damage and suffering for everyone involved (not to mention society at large).<BR/><BR/>I have altered or removed names and places. I now offer one nurse's account from her unit:<BR/>***<BR/><BR/>"...just got in from working (at S__ hospital), and have made note of yet another of the endless stories... <BR/><BR/>"Today I was told that one of our former patients had passed away on Thanksgiving at 11 months of age.<BR/> <BR/>'Jennifer' was a 23 week twin born to a woman whose previous 8 <BR/>children were in foster care due to her low intellectual capacity. <BR/>Jennifer's twin died in the delivery room. <BR/><BR/>"On her first day of life, Jennifer sustained a Grade IV IVH, and shortly thereafter, a bowel perforation. I was covering the unit the day after this and called the attending physician to carve a plan to discuss/pursue withdrawal <BR/>of care for this infant. To my tremendous dismay, I was told that 'our statistics do not support that intervention...our survival is not adequate in the VLBW population and withdrawal is not an option for this child.' <BR/><BR/>"I tinkered with some other avenues, but no medical support.<BR/><BR/>"In the best of circumstances, Jennifer was going to live her life in foster care. As it turned out, she never got that far. She was transferred to B__ Children's Hospital for 'rehabilitation' at 9 months of age, vent dependent with a tracheostomy and gastrostomy <BR/>tube. <BR/><BR/>"From there, we heard that she was back and forth between <BR/>B__ and W__ County Medical Center...not actually sure <BR/>in which place she died, but I can guess that it was not with a <BR/>familiar pair of arms holding her. I believe that this poor child must have had over 50,000 painful interventions in her short little life - one that was a battle with sepsis, multiple surgeries, NEC, ROP, reflux, IVs, suctioning, endless blood work, central lines - only to succumb a few months later. <BR/><BR/>"Never mind the pain and suffering...the cost of caring for this child was undoubtedly billed <BR/>out at over a million. Certainly, tens of thousands of dollars <BR/>exchanged hands at her expense. And sadly, her story - <BR/>one of hundreds that I alone have -is unlikely to make an impact or <BR/>be exchanged beyond this email. <BR/><BR/>"Oh...lest we forget...she improved our "survival to discharge statistics" this past year.<BR/><BR/>"I actually once envisioned a <BR/>'20/20' hour long special of this <BR/>family, as both Jennifer's mother and her siblings are very fertile, and most of their children are well known to our hospital and multiple social service agencies. <BR/><BR/>"To some degree, the reproductive freedom of Jennifer's grandmother has cost society multi-millions of dollars, cost many children enormous amounts of suffering, but has largely existed below the radar screen. A TV special could be a big eye opener, I believe."<BR/><BR/>***Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-8862770716428901282009-02-26T20:36:00.000-05:002009-02-26T20:36:00.000-05:00Hi Terri,Yes I really worry for the Grandma - basi...Hi Terri,<BR/><BR/>Yes I really worry for the Grandma - basically, AIW is a non-profit group started by a nurse to take medically fragile foster kids out of institutional care and place them with medically appropriate care givers - it's expanded since it originally started mostly with micro-preemies that were in the 'system' - here's a little snipet of local news...<BR/><BR/>a registered nurse named Linda West-Conforti are stepping up to the plate. West-Conforti has offered Nadya Suleman and her children the services of "Angels in Waiting," a non-profit founded by West-Conforti, which cares for children in foster care who are "medically fragile." AIW will provide free medical and emotional services to the family, a place to stay and round-the-clock care, consisting of 12 caretakers for the children, including trained nurses experienced in tending seriously ill children. For a family this large, it would normally cost approximately $135,000 a month, and the services could only go on for a limited time unless more donations are received. Suleman has a week to accept the offer. If she doesn't accept the offer, Allred says, Nadya Suleman may have all 14 of her children taken and put in foster care by social services, <BR/><BR/>I don't really know that Gloria Allred is really going to add any value to this situation, but I wasn't surprised to see her name pop up - she can't stay away from a good media scandal. She is not actually affiliated with the nursing group... It doesn't appear that Nadya decided to take them up on the offer (too many strings I guess)... She is working on "gathering her community support" .. puleeze. I can already see the headlines Ocotchild rehospitalized again and again and again and ... well you know lather, rinse repeat.<BR/><BR/>:-)<BR/>SheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-24605966144884776032009-02-26T12:58:00.000-05:002009-02-26T12:58:00.000-05:00Sheila - What is the "Angels in Waiting" that you ...Sheila - <BR/><BR/>What is the "Angels in Waiting" that you spoke of in one of your previous posts? Is this a home health care co, a nanny service, a group daycare?<BR/><BR/>Personally, I think the best thing (out of all the possible really ugly scenarios here) is for the newborns to be placed with adoptive families. .however, I wonder if there is a law that prevents multiples from being split up? It seems to me that there was a law enacted decades ago that prevented twins, etc from being placed separately. .but wonder if this would extend to higher order multiples?<BR/><BR/>The grandma is on the brink of having a breakdown from dealing with her daughter and caring for all of these grandchildren. The mother - well, we know what her capabilities are of caring for 14 children alone. .I cannot think of another way for these babies to get the care they truly deserve other than to place them with adoptive families who might under condition be required to get the kiddos together on a regular basis for sibling time.<BR/><BR/>What a mess.terri w/2https://www.blogger.com/profile/12300679169642744506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-20985952784915236582009-02-25T17:02:00.000-05:002009-02-25T17:02:00.000-05:00So it seems in the continuing saga and manipulatio...So it seems in the continuing saga and manipulation of the public, that Nadya must have presumed that an offer of a bigger house would just pour forth as soon as the news of the octuplets emerged, and now that it seems clear that the kind of support that usually follows this type of event is NOT forthcoming...we are being fed the story that the hospital will not allow her to take her babies home if she doesn't have a bigger / safer / nicer house. While clearly, her house isn't even big enough for the 8 adults and kids that are already living there (I'm assuming Grandpa doesn't live there since he and Granny are divorced). On the one hand, I'm glad to hear that DCFS is obviously involved or that the hospital is taking a DCFS role in advance ... on the other hand, why is this our problem ?? It seems SO unbelievable that this woman never gave a single thought to what would happen if she gave birth to 7 MORE kids not even considering the 8th surprise. She planned for no help, she planned for no housing, she planned for no financial support, she planned for nothing. She actually said to RadarOnline that she was reluctantly willing to accept some volunteers to help feed the babies for up to a year, but hopefully no more. Please someone STOP this crazy, crazy woman before some poor child gets hurt. For the parents who read Stacy's blog ... can you honestly imagine how you would get 14 kids ready for school, with lunches or lunch money, clean clothes, homework, breakfast and out the door given that her oldest is 7, she'll have kids in different schools at some point, some in elementary, some in middle school etc ... not to mention the kids who will be going to SpEd programs which may be at different facilities all together - while getting yourself ready to go to work at the same time. Puhleeze. I have two kids who are completely self sufficient other than the transportation issues and STILL some mornings at my house could legitimately be labeled chaotic. There is a rumor here in SoCal that Paramount and Dr Phil's production company are going to buy her the house they filmed her interview in. Not sure whether I think that is great or that it sucks. I hope that Dr. Phil can handle the heat either way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-9977780550579530562009-02-24T16:01:00.000-05:002009-02-24T16:01:00.000-05:00The thing that struck me so deeply about that link...The thing that struck me so deeply about that link is that Nadya's mother looks COMPLETELY exhausted and drained and Nadya looks like she just got out of Hair and Makeup - NOT like the mother of 14 children under the age of 7. It is soooo CLEAR who is taking care of these kids and it sure as hell isn't their clueless, dumbass mother. Let's HOPE that help is actually being assembled behind the scenes, because her poor mother will not survive another six months of this. I was stunned to hear that Angels in Waiting has offered a contract to help care for her and her kids for 135,000 dollars a month. They feel they would need 12 carers (I'm guessing that would be two shifts of 6 or something) but MAYBE that number is starting to shock little Miss "done, done, done ... move on and accept what has happened" into reality. She is very glad she is her mothers daughter, because if she were MY daughter and she talked to me like that - I'd have stood up and walked out. She talks about the frozen embryos like they were minature frozen children which would be taken out and killed instead of a few cells so small you couldn't see them with a naked eye. She's a lunatic. I cannot imagine why her boyfriend who donated sperm wants to have paternity checked - I'd stay as far away from the crazy lady as I could. I worry that as the costs for these kids spills into the millions that the State of CA is going to come looking for somebody to co-sponsor the costs. The interview with Nadya's Dad is sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-39690184761731702242009-02-24T14:30:00.000-05:002009-02-24T14:30:00.000-05:00Just watched the radar link, and I love the part w...Just watched the radar link, and I love the part where she says she has to "let go and accept the help that i'm offered."<BR/><BR/>Seriously? She really went into this expecting to do this all alone, and just realized a few days ago that she might need help?!? 8 newborns... Yeah, I think she needs more than one type of "help."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-60633031321401425152009-02-24T07:40:00.001-05:002009-02-24T07:40:00.001-05:00Apparently her father will be on Oprah today.Apparently her father will be on Oprah today.ThePreemie Experimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15882375368535807238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-69984720515856802162009-02-24T07:40:00.000-05:002009-02-24T07:40:00.000-05:00It never ends...http://www.radaronline.com/exclusi...It never ends...<BR/><BR/>http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/02/octomom-erupts-video-showdown-with-her-mom-over-babies.php<BR/><BR/>In case the link doesn't work, you can find the video of Octo mom and her mother arguing on www.radaronline.comThePreemie Experimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15882375368535807238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-29396567553980036462009-02-23T15:15:00.000-05:002009-02-23T15:15:00.000-05:00Well despite a great assault on Roe v Wade by Bush...Well despite a great assault on Roe v Wade by Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft .. it is still legal in the US to have an abortion, though I would stay away from South Dakota if you'd like to keep that right - since someone has apparently forgotten to tell their current Governor that they are still part of the United States of America and their citizens aren't entitled to less rights - but your are certainly right about the fact that the government has tried to take the decision about live born, but desperately premature babies from their parents and MD's with embarassingly badly written laws such as Baby Doe. My concern about leaving it to legislators to write the ART laws, is that those would be the same clowns that brought us Baby Doe (they're about the ONLY ones who look at Octomom as a scientific and divine 'achievement'.<BR/><BR/>Bleh - <BR/>SheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-66667471757986826982009-02-23T14:49:00.000-05:002009-02-23T14:49:00.000-05:00Helen Harrison wrote: "Time for legislation with t...Helen Harrison wrote: "Time for legislation with teeth, I'd say."<BR/><BR/>What I am really amazed about is that abortion is illegal yet a doctor can help a woman have 8 babies which affects the lives of the babies and the community.<BR/><BR/>Yes, we need legislation!!ThePreemie Experimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15882375368535807238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-58751536664252121222009-02-21T23:48:00.000-05:002009-02-21T23:48:00.000-05:00Helen Harrison responds:Thanks Sheila! I hadn't r...Helen Harrison responds:<BR/><BR/>Thanks Sheila! I hadn't read the poll, but I am so glad to see people are being rational this time around. <BR/><BR/>Before, high order pregnancies were always celebrated unconditionally. <BR/><BR/>I have to wonder, how much the current economic "unpleasantness" is contributing to this newly sober and realistic judgement by the general public?<BR/><BR/>I read today that both Paul Volker and George Soros feel we're in for something worse than the great depression -- world-wide.<BR/><BR/>Under these circumstances, high order multiples, and many of the other costly (in every sense of the word) excesses of fertility/NICU care, will be under far greater public and media scrutiny.<BR/><BR/><BR/>HelenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-11376460666205281452009-02-21T19:24:00.000-05:002009-02-21T19:24:00.000-05:00Hi Helen,I'm still reading ... I read that news s...Hi Helen,<BR/><BR/>I'm still reading ... I read that news story as well. It was sad to read it spelled out like that, but back when the octomom story first broke, I was very surprised at the number of fertility specialists they were able to find for media quotes who all said "well, there are many factors which must be considered" and "who are we to say how many is too many" ... I privately thought to myself, it's probably a miracle that there aren't MORE cases of extreme HOM. But I read a companion article to the one that talked about lack of compliance that talked about the unprecedented epidemic of trips and quads ... while that isn't as "shocking" as 6,7 or 8 in terms of neonatal morbidity and maternal risk, they are still serious, serious threats.<BR/><BR/>I seriously wonder how this mother is going to care for these kids even just considering one element like financially. The Gallup poll published yesterday indicated 70 percent of responders felt extremely negative toward her and her situation. 70 percent - that is a shocking number.<BR/><BR/>sheilaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-77089825331445591922009-02-20T20:18:00.000-05:002009-02-20T20:18:00.000-05:00Helen Harrison writes:If anyone is still reading t...Helen Harrison writes:<BR/><BR/>If anyone is still reading this thread...there is a news story today maintaining that only 20% of fertility clinics actually follow the guidelines on embryo transfer.<BR/><BR/>So octo-mom's doc is far from alone.<BR/><BR/>Time for legislation with teeth, I'd say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-17204735656562056322009-02-16T00:25:00.000-05:002009-02-16T00:25:00.000-05:00Do you think he (or any of the loud critics) were ...Do you think he (or any of the loud critics) were suggesting "punishing" the children for the sins of the mother ? The birth is freakish. Empirically that is true. And it is also true, that companies whose fortunes are made or lost by their relationship with the buying public, so it is prudent for them to gauge the impact that supporting the freak show might have with their revenue base. While the conservatives are unhappy, so are the liberals and the self proclaimed middle of the road folks. Companies who have in the past chosen to gift their products for positive press did it not because the children "deserved" or didn't "deserve" a life time supply of Pampers or Gerbers or Similac - but because the *COMPANY* would benefit from that gift. What is wrong with those companies NOT doing something that would be bad for business. I had a very interesting conversation at the nail salon with a woman who had IVF recently for the specific purpose of having a boy child (she had two older girls). She was stunned to hear that this woman was able to convince the MD to transfer that many embryos. She was a bit older than Nadya, but given her two successful spontaneous pregnancies, the MD said they would transfer no more than two, and that number was not up for discussion, even though, they were paying out of pocket costs and really couldn't afford more than two attempts. She was lucky in that IVF worked first time and only one embryo implanted and she got her son - but she could not understand why this MD was continued to be permitted to practice given the damage his lack of ethics was doing to the science of ART that has worked so hard to come back from the bad old days of Pergonal litters etc ..<BR/><BR/>I don't think that the death threats that have happened to her former PR firm or herself are any less insane than octoMom. But I think the depth of her mistake is hitting home. The sperm donor had best hope his contract is iron clad - because the state will be looking for any cracks that could leave him financially liable for this situation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6205556462251851125.post-49561129279458389262009-02-14T21:03:00.001-05:002009-02-14T21:03:00.001-05:00When I posted at February 9, 2009 11:41 PM:Conserv...When I posted at February 9, 2009 11:41 PM:<BR/><BR/>Conservative radio talk show host Bill Handel in Los Angeles, who has branded the births "freakish," said on the air Tuesday that people are ready to boycott any corporations that help the octuplets or their mother.<BR/><BR/><BR/>And if she had aborted them....can't play both sides of the fence can you?<BR/><BR/>The "you" was directed at the radio talk show host who apparently wants to punish the children for the sins of the mother.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com