Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Octomom and our obsession with her (finally gave in)...

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So far I've only mentioned in passing the story of the Octomom.
I've resisted going off into the right or wrongness of her decision to have more than 6 children.

It sounds more like a personal disaster story than a personal interest story to me.

I have to admit to cringing at the photo of Nadya pregnant with that huge belly... I actually shuddered.
Probably like men do when they see another man hit in the crotch and drop to the ground.
It doesn't actually hurt you but you can't seem to avoid that instinctive flinch.

This will be the first and only post solely on Nadya Suleman that I will ever type.
Everyone has an opinion and suggestion for what should happen or not happen. I worry about the 14 children getting enough care and attention.
There are some unanswered questions that I still have that I'm somewhat curious to know the answers to...
(or put another way questions that I would like to know the "real" answers to).

1) Why did Nadya Suleman decide being single to have more children? Yea, she likes kids but...
2) If she's unemployed and living in a tiny house that was cramped for 6 kids where was she planning to put them?
3) How the hell did she afford In Vitro Fertilization? I know a few women that have gone that route and it's quite costly.
4) What were the doctor's motives in implanting 8 fertilized eggs into Ms. Suleman? If I have the facts straight she has had successful In Vitro births before, which means that the doctor didn't need to implant 8 eggs at all. It put her and her babies at risk.
5) Ethically, wasn't the doctor wrong to have done the procedure? Is he liable in some way? First do no harm...
6) Was this deliberately done for publicity, financial gain or some other reason?
7) Wouldn't any legitimate fertility clinic screen their clients to be sure they were using sound judgement, ascertain their situation and refuse any procedures that were sketchy to say the least?
8) Did the public response surprise her and her doctor?

On the other hand-

1) This is the United States not China and it is all right to have as many children as you can "create." But usually they are one at a time... with enough time in between them that one can feed itself cheerios, talk a bit and walk holding a helping hand while the next child requires the more intensive care of a newborn.
2) She's been criticized by many for being irresponsible and the babies might not be sent home with her. Yes, it would seem irresponsible but that's the case in many instances. Many children go home to two parents that are toxic, but have a far nicer house.
3) Can they get her counseling, she will need it, she will need help, we shouldn't punish the children.
4) In this country many believe women should be married when they have children. Many are against abortion and/or contraception. So while having children is celebrated even for single women (for doing the right thing and having the baby) they are criticized for being single. A single woman, by design or divorce with children (other than widows) are almost always criticized sometimes quite harshly.
5) This is an oddity as far as having children goes, I doubt there will be a run for the fertility clinic by women that want the notoriety or responsibility of having 8 babies all at once. Quite the contrary I would imagine. Most folk don't want a total of 14 children. The average number of children in a family is two I think.
6) Even if she had second thoughts now, it's too late and she needs help and so do the children to survive.


Is there no answer in this country other than to say that she is unfit as a mother and that the children should be taken away from her? Criticizing her, threatening her, isn't going to help anyone. I might question her and her doctor's motives but children in the USA should be taken care of.
She will have way more than her 15 minutes of fame, already has, along with her friends, family, newsreporters and any one else that can get a scoop or photo or... talk. Britney Spears on steroids and they both got ole Dr. Phil's attention (not sure if that's a good thing really).

Personally, I have four children and all were wanted, planned for and taken care of the best we could. I'm pretty sure I would not have done well with twins or triplets which can naturally occur (there are twins in my family which always worried me just a wee bit). For me octuplets is honestly a nightmare scenario. I can't imagine it and I honestly don't want to.

The story annoys me but I don't hate Nadya in any way. What a firestorm she finds herself in the middle of.
This story should be put in the place it merits. An oddity, not mainstream, not what most people would imagine or want for themselves. The children should be taken care of adequately somehow. It won't be an easy one to figure out legally.

The hypocrisy of it all is that many families have lost their homes, women and children are among the homeless and everyone's talking about the "Octomom."
It sounds more like a Marvel Spiderman comic villain than a woman with octuplets.

There are more important things out there than Octomom going on and since I'll likely never get honest answers to my questions that's it. I hope it works out for her children, truly I do.

G'night,

Laura

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