In January 2009 a California woman gave birth to the second set of octuplets born in the U.S. and they became the longest living octuplets after their first week of life. (There is another set of octuplets, the first born in the United States, the Chukwu octuplets. However, one of the babies passed away shortly after their birth in 1998. They were in the news recently as well since they just turned ten years old.) I imagine the stress of carrying and delivering eight babies would take quite a toll on a woman's body. Furthermore, the financial impact seems like it would be a struggle to properly care for eight children that require diapers, food, clothing, shelter, and education. I have heard that experts are estimating it will cost at least $2.5 million to raise the octuplet children over the next 18 years at a bare minimum. The octuplet babies were born at 30 weeks and all doing well but will need to stay in the hospital for a few weeks as full-term babies have a 38-42 weeks gestation. That hospital stay alone will also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. I certainly hope that there are family and friends and other means of support to assist with octuplet babies! However, on the other hand, hopefully they will be left alone by the media and other onlookers so they can have a "normal" life not tainted by the media and other people's opinions of them. It sounds like they already have been approached about making movies, books, and more about octuplets and this rare birth.

I do applaud this woman for deciding not to have any abortions and keeping all the babies, after she was told that she was pregnant with seven babies after the in vitro fertilization...and ended up birthing octuplet babies! I just worry about the strain on the family to be able to properly care for that many children.

This family will inevitably be in the news for the next few weeks as they follow the progress of the octuplets until they are able to be brought home from the hospital. In the coming years, we may see a movie and/or book about this multiple birth and I’m sure we’ll be reminded every January about the birthday of this amazing set of eight babies. It is certainly amazing: octuplets!