Octuplets: Nadya on Dr Phil (Part 4: Jonah, male role model for 10 boys)

March 11, 2009

(3-10) Octuplets: Updated list of posts

Interview continues. They discuss Jonah who is extremely small and doesn’t even look like an infant or even a preemie - here he looks like an color ultrasound image. How can a mother be “at ease almost” and say the octuplets “are not medically fragile”?

Jonah: 2.5 lbs

More from the website:

Jonah is small in size, so he may remain in the hospital for another month.

And that bill alone? How much is his lifelong care going to cost? She knew going in she going afford to raise the six she had and she still doesn’t think she did anything wrong and that she was putting her first 6 children ahead of her needs..

He’s still very healthy, but he’s so small, they keep him there,” Nadya tells Dr. Phil before she enters the room. She adds that sometimes he has breathing problems.

When Nadya arrives at her son’s side, his eyes are open. “Jonah has a little cleft on his lip, and the doctors say it’s 100 percent cosmetic,” she reports. “He’s about two-and-a-half pounds.” She notes that his breathing rate is excellent.

In the studio,

DR PHIL: You’re saying right now that all of the babies are doing well, but you understand that in the next year, there are a lot of challenges, and they are at high risk for certain kinds of problems.

NADYA: It’s only the beginning.

Dr. Phil asks Nadya about the results of the chromosomal testing that was performed on the babies.

NADYA: There’s a really high chance that they’ll be fine, because they’re all normal. Not one problem with chromosomes.

None of them are normal - certainly not Jonah. She can’t possibly think there’s a really high chance they’re be fine. Or that that because they don’t have chromosomal damage they’re not going to have any problems? Do the three older (presumably full term) children who have neurological sensitivities along the autism spectrum, one with ADHD, have chromosomal abnormalities? I don’t know. And cerebral palsy, anoxic brain damage and blindness has nothing to do with chromosomal damage.

More from the website:

DR PHIL: How are you going to divide your time with these six children at home?

NADYA: It’s going to be a long, long journey, and in the process, they’re going to grow.

DR PHIL: You’re consciously going to have to make an effort to ensure that these six [don’t feel neglected,] Is marriage in your future?

NADYA: When these eight babies are exiting high school. [She'll be 51]

People already think I’m selfish for choosing to have more than six. Wouldn’t that behavior be the epitome of selfishness, if I were to devote even one percent of my time outside of my family? I think so.

DR PHIL: Maybe it brings a male role model into their lives.

NADYA: A stranger.

You’ve got 10 boys and no male role model.

NADYA: At the present time, it’s only grandpa. I’m not completely rigid and saying, ‘No way.’ I’m open-minded, but I want to make sure they’re older.

DR PHIL: So you’re all about the kids.

NADYA: One hundred percent.

Again, one needs only to think of her initial refusal of free 274/7 professional nursing care for all 14 children to understand the worth of that statement. 100% and *of course not* are her favorite words.