Nadya Suleman

Natalie Denise Suleman (born Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman; July 11, 1975), known as Octomom in the media, is an American media personality who came to international attention when she gave birth to the first surviving octuplets in January 2009.

The circumstances of their high-order multiple birth led to controversy in the field of assisted reproductive technology as well as an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved.

Suleman conceived the octuplets and her six older children via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Suleman was born in Fullerton, California.

She is the only child of Angela Victoria Suleman (born Stanaitis), a schoolteacher of Lithuanian descent and Edward Doud Suleman, a Palestinian restaurant owner turned realtor who served as a translator in Iraq.

She attended Nogales High School in La Puente, California, where she was known as Natalie Doud, and later Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut where she earned a psychiatric technician license.

She received a B.S. in child development and worked for a state mental hospital for three years.

In 1996, Suleman married Marco Gutierrez.

Suleman began IVF treatments at age 21 in 1997, under the supervision of Dr. Michael Kamrava, who was later expelled from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

They separated in 2000.

In 2001, Suleman gave birth to her first son, Elijah.

In 2002, she gave birth to her first daughter, Amerah.

Suleman continued IVF treatments, which resulted in three further pregnancies, including two more sons, Joshua and Aidan, and one set of fraternal twins, Calyssa and Caleb, for a total of six children: four sons and two daughters.

Records showed that Suleman was unemployed after having received disability benefits between 2002 and 2008, as compensation for a back injury sustained in September 1999 during an incident at a previous job.

Gutierrez filed for divorce in November 2006, which was finalized in January 2008.

In 2009, Suleman stated that she had six embryos left over from her previous IVF treatments.

She explained that she requested all of the remaining embryos be transferred into her uterus at one time.

A woman her age would normally have a maximum of three embryos transferred.

Suleman states that part of her reasoning for attempting a sixth pregnancy was so that the frozen embryos would not be destroyed.

Fresh cycles were always done, despite there being available frozen embryos stored with Dr. Kamrava.

In March 2009, Suleman bought a new house in La Habra, and many stories questioned that the octuplets would be released from the hospital, while Suleman expressed concern about losing custody of them.

In the early morning hours of April 1, the day she would bring home the seventh octuplet, vandals threw a baby seat through the back window of her Toyota minivan.

As of April 14, 2009, all of the children were home with their mother and grandmother.

Her next spokesman was Victor Munoz, who quit on March 6, 2009.

Suleman has appeared on many television shows, starting with a February 2009 interview with Ann Curry.

The octuplets celebrated their first birthday on January 26, 2010.

Suleman told People magazine, "I don't get much sleep, but I'm used to that. Once one of the kids gets up, they all get up. Some nights I don't sleep at all or as little as half an hour. On the good nights, I may get up to two full hours. The longest I've gone without sleeping is 72 hours. It's hard, but I'm continuing to move forward with my life and trying to be the best mother I can be."

Suleman quickly captured the public eye with the birth of octuplets.

Within the first week, the media dubbed her "Octomom".

Suleman hired the Killeen Furtney Group as her initial public relations company, with Wes Yoder providing a small amount of pro bono advice.

Both groups soon ended their involvement after receiving death threats.

In June 2011, during a California Medical Board investigation, it was found that Kamrava had transferred twelve embryos, which the board found to be an "extreme" departure from standard of care.

After reviewing Suleman's case, in combination with three other cases, the Medical Board of California voted to revoke Kamrava's medical license, effective July 1, 2011.

News of the octuplets caused an international media sensation.

Public response was largely negative, including death threats.

There has been much public discussion about Suleman's decision to have the octuplets, including a minor protest outside the Suleman home.

Many expressed concern that Suleman's decision to have these children would burden taxpayers with financial support.

Suleman claimed to be able to independently support her children, saying she was planning to return to school to complete a master's degree in counseling.

In 2019, Suleman revealed that her son, Aidan, is "severely autistic" and "requires complete assistance in meeting all needs in activities of daily living."

Suleman is a vegan and says that most of her children prefer vegan food.