Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Tunisian Teacher Not Pregnant with 12 Babies

Leave it to the AP to get it right: It appears that the Tunisian women is not pregnant with 12 babies (maybe we have learned something from Octomom after all)! The story did seem "out-there" but after Octomom, you just never know what is possible. I even waited a day to post the story to see if it was actually true.

The AP is reporting that the woman could be experiencing a "phantom pregnancy," where a woman believes she is pregnant and does experience pregnancy symptoms, such as a swollen abdomen, morning sickness, etc. The condition is rare.

Feel free to comment. Thanks!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

12 Babies? Did we learn nothing from Octomom Nadya Suleman

The Sun reported this week that a teacher in Tunisia is pregnant with 6 boys and 6 girls and she has vowed to carry them all to term. Did we learn nothing from the tragedy that is Octomom Nadya Suleman?

Those babies will be lucky if they make it 30 weeks -- and survive. Even if they all survive, most likely some if not all of those babies will have multiple health problems that may last a lifetime. While fertility treatments of some kind were used, at this point no one knows if in vitro fertilization (IVF) or artificial insemination (IUI) was the procedure used.

As in the case of Nadya Suleman, the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the doctor involved. He or she is the one controlling the treatment; however, it is unlikely that he or she will ever have to take any responsibility, either financial or emotional, for the outcome.

What say you?