Mother of octuplets was 'fixated' on having children

The mother of octuplets said she was “fixated” on having children, as pictures of the eight babies aired for a first time.

In an interview broadcast in the US, Nadya Suleman said she wanted a huge family to make up for the isolation she felt as an only child.

But her mother Angela Suleman has criticised her daughter actions, calling them “unconscionable”.

The grandmother told celebrity news website RadarOnline.com that she was “struggling” to look after her daughter’s six other children while Nadya remains in hospital following the octuplets’ birth.

The six boys and two girls were delivered in late January at the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Centre in Los Angeles.

It is believed to be only the second case of octuplets surviving more than a few hours.

Speaking on NBC’s Today programme, Nadya Suleman confirmed that she had six other children – four through single pregnancies and twins.

The 33-year-old said she had six embryos implanted for each of her previous pregnancies. The octuplets were a surprise result of the last round of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

All 14 of her children were conceived with the help of one doctor, she told NBC.

Ms Suleman put her desire for a large family down to the isolation she felt as a child.

She told NBC’s Today programme: “I know now that I may or may not have really deep down wanted that many siblings, but at the time I was so focused and fixated on wanting so many that I just kept going.”

Asked if she “deluded” herself in thinking her children needed more siblings, the mother replied: “Not deluded myself, but I knew that’s what I wanted.”

Ms Suleman also defended the doctor who gave her the treatment, stating that he had done “nothing wrong” and warned her of possible complications of the multiple birth.

The Medical Board of California last week announced that it was investigating the matter to see if “a violation of the standard of care” had taken place.

In a separate interview to the NBC one, the babies’ grandmother spoke of how she had pleaded with her daughter’s first fertility doctor not to treat Nadya.

She also challenged her daughter’s comments about feeling isolated as a child, saying: “We raised her in a loving family and her father always spoiled her.”