J&K+8 look out

[UCBChemEGrad]

<p>

usually do not splurge on fertility drugs and/or IVF.

Operative word here is “usually”. I still bet that this family doesnt have medical insurance or thought through the financial ramifications of their decision.</p>

[sunnyflorida]

<p>BunsenBurner, you would be surprised the number of patients who can come up with the fees for IVF (its not covered by health ins in most states anyway) but who do not have health insurance and whose pregnancy is then covered by Medicaid. You would be AMAZED.</p>

[VeryHappy]

<p>

@UCBChemEGrad

10:1 odds say the family doesn’t have medical insurance and the care is being subsidized with tax dollars

</p>

<p>Not at all a fair assumption. You have absolutely no idea of their situation.</p>

[UCBChemEGrad]

<p>^

You have absolutely no idea of their situation.

Of course…that’s why I handicapped my claim.</p>

[teriwtt]

<p>from the little reading I did do, it seems as if one of the issues people have with the show, is exploitation of the children. Supposedly, child labor laws do not apply to children in the entertainment business. In California, they’ve enacted their own labor laws to protect those children, but Pennsylvania has no such laws (again, I got this from very brief reading I did). I can certainly understand that point of contention.</p>

[Hanna]

<p>“it’s a good thing we don’t get to judge who gets care based on our opinions of their lifestyles, hobbies, weight, smoking, etc.”</p>

<p>It’s an even better thing that we DO – at least sometimes – get to charge privately insured people additional insurance premiums when they make those choices. This is the same thing IMHO. It’s a free country, do what you want, but if your choice imposes costs on society, pay the costs.</p>

[husky82]

<p>Thx Hanna</p>

<p>I read that in California in 2006, 5% of the births accounted for 76% of the childbirth hospital costs, and in 2003 the average hospital cost for a 25 wk preemie was just over $200,000. I believe we should do all we can to counsel against these extremely high risk pregnancies.</p>

[BunsenBurner]

<p>I agree with this article that says doctors should follow the guidelines and fully inform the patient undergoing fertility treatments:</p>

<p>[Extreme</a> multiple births carry tremendous risks - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/28/octuplet.risks/index.html]Extreme”>Extreme multiple births carry tremendous risks - CNN.com)</p>

<p>

The mother of the California octuplets wants to remain anonymous, and the hospital has not answered questions about whether she was using fertility treatments. But medical experts who are not connected with the births say it would be nearly impossible for a woman to naturally conceive eight babies at once.</p>

<p>Dr. Mary Hinckley, a California-based reproductive endocrinologist, said, “most commonly, this happens via fertility-assisted conception.” </p>

<p>A mother with a multiple birth could have used hormones to grow and ovulate multiple eggs at the same time. A patient may have not followed the doctor’s recommendations, or the doctor may not have understood the consequences, allowing the patient to produce too many eggs, which were then fertilized, resulting in a multiple birth. </p>

<p>“It’s considered fairly reckless for reproductive endocrinology in the United States,” Hinckley said. “Through guidelines, we’ve really altered this so [large multiple births] are incredibly uncommon here in the U.S. It’s usually if the doctor is not doing what he was trained to do or the patient is not following the doctor’s advice.”

</p>

<p>I do not think the couple was planning on getting a set of eight babies intentionally.</p>

[mom60]

<p>UCBChem- I would bet they have insurance since the babies were born at a Kaiser Hospital.</p>