Back in January 2019, the world was captivated by the miraculous birth of eight children to Ms. Natalie “Nadya” Suleman, a 34-year-old woman from California. This extraordinary event made headlines worldwide and earned Nadya a place in the record books for the most confirmed multiple births, sharing the title with another American mother who had also given birth to eight children. Nadya’s record held until last year when a Malian mother gave birth to nine.
The eight babies, born in a surprising mix of six boys and two girls, were named Noah, Josiah, Nariyah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Makai, and Maliyah. The oldest of the babies weighed 1.5 kg at birth, while the youngest was a mere 0.68 kg.
Despite their small size, all the babies grew up healthy. In their early days, they had to be kept in incubators and receive special care due to their fragility. However, by the sixth day after birth, they were strong enough to be removed from ventilators.
Nadya Suleman’s choice to have eight children at once through in vitro fertilization sparked controversy. She was already a single mother of six children, all born through insemination. Born in 1975, Nadya has actively taken on the role of a single mother to her 14 children. In a 2009 interview, she revealed that she dedicates time to each child individually every day, spending an average of 45 minutes with each one, with Jonah, the lightest boy, receiving extra attention.
It’s worth noting that all 14 of Nadya’s children share the same biological father, David Solomon, a man she used to date.
Life for the Suleman family hasn’t been easy. In 2012, Nadya had to file for personal bankruptcy when she couldn’t pay off a debt of up to 1 million USD (about 23 billion VND). She had to move her children out of her home due to a bank loan and took on multiple jobs to make ends meet. Her choice to have so many children garnered criticism from many quarters.
Currently, the eight Suleman siblings have turned 13. Nadya occasionally shares pictures of her children on her personal social networking site. A New York Times article in 2018 revealed that, despite being smaller than their peers, the eight siblings are healthy, obedient, and happy children. They are all dedicated to their studies and receive a proper education, dispelling earlier rumors of neglect.
Nadya Suleman’s journey as a single mother of 14 children, including the famous octuplets, continues to be a source of fascination and inspiration.
