Nadya Suleman

The Beverly Hills doctor whose fertility treatment led to the birth of Nadya Suleman's octuplets -- and her six previous children -- has one of the worst success rates of any fertility clinic in the country, according to federal records reviewed by The Times. In fact, Suleman's children represent a sizable portion of the pregnancy rate at his clinic over the last several years -- and taxpayers are already footing part of the bill.

NBC's "Today" show aired Friday morning the first portion of Ann Curry's interview with Nadya Suleman, the Whittier mother whose controversial birth of octuplets last week has sparked a heated debate about medical ethics. The network is making the most of the exclusive, stretching the interview out over three days, including a "Dateline" special on Tuesday. Despite all the airtime devoted to Suleman, left unspoken was the question dogging NBC: Was the mother of 14 compensated in any way for the sit-down?

For seven years, beginning in her teens, Nadya Suleman tried to have a baby. She suffered three miscarriages. She tried artificial insemination and fertility drugs, to no avail. By 2000, a back injury and her inability to bear children had sent her into a deep depression in which she told a psychiatrist that she had suicidal thoughts. On many days, she did not get out of bed. One doctor asked her what activities she had given up. Her answer: "Everything."

Re "L.A.'s 8 tiny celebrities," Feb. 3 Your article refers to media speculation that Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets, might be paid as much as $2 million for an interview. Her publicist has stated, presumably with a straight face, that "the money itself is not the object" and "she wants to be sure they are well cared for." I have a message for Suleman and her publicist: How about using the $2 million to pay Kaiser Permanente for the care of the mother and her newborns, which, according to media reports, will total millions of dollars?

The Whittier mother of octuplets and six other children, including a set of twins, has filed at least two claims for workers' compensation, according to state records. Few details were available about Nadya Suleman's first injury, which occurred in 1999 while she was a psychiatric technician at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk.

Move over, Brangelina and your $14-million twins. There are some new babies in town. Whittier mother Nadya Suleman and her eight week-old babies are entertaining offers from media outlets around the world as they decide who will land the first interview and snap the first pictures. Suleman -- a 33-year-old unmarried mother who already has six children between the ages of 2 and 7, including a set of twins -- remained hospitalized Monday along with the octuplets, who continue to improve.

Octuplets born last week to a Whittier woman who already had six children "continue to be stable," Kaiser Permanente officials said Sunday. The eight children born Jan. 26 to Nadya Suleman, 33, remain at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, where they are breathing unassisted and being fed donated breast milk, said spokesman Jim Anderson. The children are also receiving an intravenous nutritional supplement and will probably remain in the hospital for several more weeks, Anderson said.

Nadya Suleman's goal in life was to be a mother, her friends and family said. That is why, even with a brood of six, including 2-year-old twins, she decided to have more embryos transferred in hopes, her mother said Friday, of getting "just one more girl." "And look what happened. Octuplets. Dear God," Angela Suleman said four days after her 33-year-old daughter became the second person in the U.S. ever to give birth to eight babies at once.