The woman giving birth to octuplets this week at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Bellflower continues to make headlines all over the world.

 

Besides the six boys and two girls she just had on Monday, the woman, who has not been publicly identified, has six other children at home, including twins. A woman identified as the babies’ grandmother told the Los Angeles Times that the mother never expected fertility treatment she had received would result in eight more babies.

 

She also added that her daughter had been given two options when she first learnt about having more babies: either keep them all or reduce the number of embryos. She chose to go on with her pregnancy no matter the risks. She is now having eight babies instead of seven as doctors dealing with her case expected. It seems that the eighth managed to come out of nowhere, so to say, as ultrasounds made previously on the mother had not revealed his existence.

 

For the moment, the babies are doing well, doctors said. However, taking care of them is a challenge for the hospital stuff. Every child has two nurses taking care he is receiving fluids, proteins, and vitamins intravenously, Dr. Mandhir Gupta, a neonatalist, said.

 

“We feed them. ... We change diapers. ... When they cry, we console them. When the mom comes and touches the babies, you can definitely see their expression on their faces and body. They are very happy,” Gupta added.

 

The babies will remain in the hospital for the following six weeks.