Back in 2009, the world was introduced to "Octomom," the California woman who, incredibly, gave birth to octuplets. Yes, that's 8 whole babies all in one go. I'm wincing at just the thought of that.
Natalie Solomon, who already had 6 other children, instantly rose to fame following the birth of the octuplets, who were conceived via IVF with an anonymous sperm donor.
The media were quick to scrutinize the single mom, however, and she hasn't been shy of controversy in the last decade.
But, now, Natalie is back in the spotlight for a much more somber reason. She has revealed this week that one of her older children, Aidan, is severely autistic and, despite being fourteen-years-old, is "going on 1 in his head."
Keep reading to hear Natalie's heartbreaking revelation about her son, and how she has turned her life around for the better of her children.
Natalie Solomon is a medical marvel.
Back in 2009, Natalie made headlines when she became the first, and the only, woman in the world to successfully birth 8 healthy babies in one go.Natalie was implanted with twelve embryos.
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Her IVF was administered by Dr. Michael Kamrava, who had also implanted her for all 6 of her previous pregnancies. However, Natalie remains adamant to this day that she wasn't aware that she had been implanted with so many, and that she only wanted twins. She also insists that Dr. Kamrava implanted twelve without her knowledge.She insists that her doctor talked her into carrying more fetuses.
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According to Natalie, Dr. Kamrava pushed her to consent to implanting additional embryos while she was strapped to a gurney and under the influence of heavy narcotics.
“He told me we lost six embryos, he said they were expelled out of me, and that’s why he wanted to implant another six," she claimed.
Dr. Kamrava has since had his medical license revoked.And, miraculously, Natalie fell pregnant with octuplets.
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She became the first woman to carry octuplets to full term, and it took a team of forty-six doctors and nurses to perform the cesarean section when she went into labor at thirty-one weeks.And, even more miraculously, the babies were all born in good health.
The babies weighed between 1 pound 8 ounces and 3 pounds 4 ounces, and there were 6 boys and 2 girls - Nariyah, Maliyah, Jonah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Makai. Never before had so many been born at once and survived the ordeal.Natalie was quickly dubbed "Octomom" by the tabloids.
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She and her family were catapulted into instant stardom.Though the fame wasn't kind to Natalie.
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The Octomom was criticized by many for deliberately becoming impregnated with so many fetuses in one go, especially considering that she already had 6 children waiting for her at home.She was dubbed "irresponsible."
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And many argued that she only got pregnant for the fame and, in reality, would struggle to feed and appropriately care for her fourteen children as a single mother.Things took a dark turn for Natalie.
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And, as time went on, people lost interest in the octuplets, and the single mom started making headlines for all of the wrong reasons.A lot of her actions were heavily criticized.
She turned to porn to make ends meet.
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Natalie had a short-lived career in pornography and stripping, which led people to be concerned about the welfare of her fourteen children at home. AÂ suit by Gloria Allred followed accusations of child endangerment and exploitation, and Ms. Suleman went on Oprah and Dr. Phil to stand up for herself and, ultimately, to tell her side of the story.After all that, Natalie found herself becoming dependent on drugs and alcohol.
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She has admitted that she turned to booze and Xanax between the years of 2011 to 2013, before briefly checking into rehab. During this time, friends and family helped to take care of the children.