Original Air Date:
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Guests:
Oprah welcomed Nadya Suleman, mother of the only living octuplets in the world, to the show to share her story in her own words.
Show Summary:
Oprah welcomed the mother of the only living set of octuplets in the world, Nadya Suleman, to the show to share her story in her own words. Oprah admitted to being hesitant of having the star of popular tabloid cover stories on the show for fear of perpetuating the sensationalism, but after receiving a letter from Nadya herself, Oprah realized it was time to give the mother a voice.
Nadya Suleman, or Octomom as she's referred to in the media, allowed Oprah's crew to record a 24 hour period of her life to see what it's like to raise 14 children 8 and under as a single mother. The footage was exhausting just to watch.
Special Highlights:
This episode featured the following highlights:
- Nadya Suleman elected to have artificial insemination with frozen embryos and donor sperm to have her 14 children in 6 pregnancies. She admits now that having a big family was a selfish way for her to fill a void in her life.
- With an exhausting schedule and little help from outside nannies, Nadya is determined to support her children on her own without using government assistance or exploiting her kids with reality television. So far using media outlets for revenue is her only option.
What to Take Away from the Show:
It was an honest moment to hear Nadya Suleman admit that it was a selfish and misinformed decision she made to have more children after already raising 6 on her own; that there is no way she, or even two parents, could give her children all that they need and require. After watching this episode I realized the stress involved in taking care of so many children - that there is no way she would have taken this task on purposefully and it's admirable that she is determined to take on the responsibility of caring for them herself without burdening others.