‘Octomom’ Natalie Suleman reveals she was forced to do an interview after giving birth and reflects on media circus

Natalie ‘Nadya’ Suleman made history when she gave birth to the first surviving set of octuplets in history, but all she wanted was privacy. 

The mum-of-14 has opened up about the media frenzy that surrounded their miracle birth, sharing the trauma it caused too. 

In a new interview, Suleman revealed the hospital where she gave birth held a press conference without her approval, which only added to the unwanted and overwhelming media attention she received. 

“I thought for a while I wouldn’t be able to survive it,” Suleman told TODAY.com. 

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”I didn’t allow myself to process any emotion or feelings. I just was, you know, on autopilot.”

Hospital workers had violated HIPPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules and reportedly leaked her name and medical information to the media, which is what started the media circus. 

According to NBC Washington, 15 hospital workers were fired and another eight were disciplined for their part in it. 

Suleman said the hospital’s public relations team refused to discharge her until she found a manager to help “control the chaos”. 

She initially refused, but was ultimately told she had no choice. 

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Suleman was forced into doing an interview, and had her phone confiscated, and she was told she’d be able to see her kids after it was done. 

“In retrospect I would have refused. I didn’t even know I had that right as a patient to refuse. I wish I had some legal assistance at that time,” she said. 

Now, looking back, she believes that if she had a partner at the time, the scrutiny wouldn’t have been nearly as bad. 

She feels like having a partner would have helped act as a buffer, which is also why she’s become so fiercely protective of the privacy of herself and her kids. 

Now when she heads out in public, she opts to completely cover her face with scarves and hats, trying to hide herself from any cameras.

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Suleman initially set out out to have one more baby.

She was already a mum-of-six and struggling to support her large family. She was at university and living with her parents at the time.

She went back to Dr. Michael Kamrava, who she had seen for IVF to conceive her other kids, but he implanted her with 12 embryos – well above the recommended standard practice of two, for her last pregnancy.

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Kamrava, who initially told Suleman he’d only implanted six embryos, later admitted to implanting twice that number and was ultimately stripped of his medical license.

In an interview with People she admitted she threw herself under the bus to protect him, something she deeply regrets now.

“I do regret not suing the infertility doctor. I definitely regret that because his insurance would’ve been the one paying, and it would’ve been some millions, and it would’ve been helpful for my family,” the mum said.

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But now for the first time in 16 year,s she’s ready to share her story through the Lifetime movie I Was Octomom and the six-part documentary series Confessions of Octomom. 

Suleman and her family, 16-year-old octuplets: Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jonah, Makai, Josiah and Jeremiah, her six older children Elijah, Amerah, Joshua, Aidan, and fraternal twins Caleb and Calyssa, feature in the movie and documentary.

She considers the opportunity to finally share her story blessing because now people are able to hear her truth.

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