Octomom: The True Story of the Largest Single Mother, Condemned by the Whole World (10 photos)

In 2009, a sensation swept the world: American Natalie Suleman gave birth to eight children at once. She was dubbed the "Octomom" (from the Greek oktō, meaning "eight"), and the story instantly became a media bombshell, sparking a wave of condemnation.





Why? Because at the time of her birth, she already had six children, all conceived through IVF, and she was a single mother living on welfare.



Natalie's path to motherhood was not easy. After unsuccessful attempts to conceive, her husband abandoned IVF and left. While working in a psychiatric clinic, she suffered a back injury and used part of her disability compensation to finance IVF treatments, giving birth to six children from a donor.

When doctors warned her body might no longer withstand the stress of pregnancy, Natalie, fearing the remaining embryos would be wasted, decided on one last attempt. She planned to implant six embryos in the hopes of having one or two children.

A Doctor's Fatal Decision





Her fertility specialist, Michael Kamrava, played a key role. Contrary to ethical standards and recommendations, he convinced the patient (Natalie would later testify in court that she was sedated) to transfer not six, but twelve embryos. Suleman claimed she insisted on transferring only the six embryos she had left over from previous IVF cycles, even though she was told that for her age, the recommended maximum is three. She said she wanted to transfer all six because they were all that remained from previous cycles, and she didn't want to destroy them or pay for further storage.



Later, an investigation by the Medical Board of California revealed that 29 more embryos remained frozen. Despite this, Suleman underwent a new transfer, and Dr. Kamrava injected her with 12 fresh blastocysts. Eight implanted.

Natalie's pregnancy was extremely difficult. Due to the large size of her uterus, several ribs were broken. The babies were born at 31 weeks by cesarean section. The babies' weight ranged from 850 g to 1.5 kg. All survived and were relatively healthy.



And for the fertility specialist, the story didn't end well. In 2011, the California Medical Board revoked his license for unethical practices, including the Suleman case. He left the United States.

Fight for Survival



The public was furious. This is understandable, as a single mother of six children, she knowingly took an incredible risk and condemned herself and her newborns to living at the state's expense. Natalie tried to monetize her fame: a talk show and attempts to film a reality series, but was mostly rejected due to her negative image. Several show business promoters she initially worked with dropped her after facing an unprecedented wave of public hatred. For example, when the octomom arrived to pick up her octuplets from the hospital, someone smashed her car's rear window with a child car seat and scrawled curse words on the bodywork.

Despairing, she briefly took up stripping and starred in adult films, later admitting that she did it "to put bread on the table" and lived on antidepressants. Her life was going downhill: addictions, bankruptcy, welfare fraud charges (she hid $26,000 in income), and probation.

In interviews, Suleman emphasized that she truly did everything she could to support her family, and she calls the rumors about living on unemployment benefits lies:

I didn't spend taxpayer money. I saved a ton of money working as a psychiatric technician at a state mental hospital. I saved over $100,000. I spent every last penny. Instead of buying a house, I paid for IVF.

I also had an inheritance, about $60,000, which went toward this, and I'm not proud of that—the money was supposed to go to my older children.

I took out student loans, but I paid for everything myself. Period.



Top row, left to right: Josh, Kalissa, Amera, Caleb. Middle row, sitting on a bench, left to right: Makai, Jonah, Josiah, Natalie, Noah, Malia, Naria. Two children on the grass, left to right: Isaiah, Jeremiah.

In 2018, she shared her pain with the New York Times:

I pretended to be a fake, a caricature of myself, something I'm not, and I did it out of desperation and a lack of funds to provide for my family. I've been hiding from the real world my whole life.



According to the latest reports, since 2018, Natalie Suleman has been working as a counselor at a rehabilitation center, continues to receive government assistance, and is raising her children, trying to put her scandalous past behind her.

However, 50-year-old Natalie loves her octuplets like any normal mother. In early 2025, a woman wrote a touching message to her children, who were turning 16, on social media:

God has loved and protected you all for the past 16 years, and He has great plans for each of you!



Still from the film "I Was an Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story"

Natalie Suleman was both a victim of circumstances and the author of her own drama, which society watched as a spectacle, forgetting the living people behind the screen.

I never wanted fame. That's the biggest misconception about me. I sued the hospital because they were the ones who put me in the spotlight. I did everything I could to make ends meet. And that meant making a fool of myself, sacrificing my integrity. The life I was living then wasn't just destructive—it was bleak. The complete opposite of who I really am.



Natalie Suleman's unique story has been the subject of several investigative documentaries, including the series "Confessions of an Octomom." It also formed the basis for the feature film "I Was an Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story" (2025).