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Nadya Suleman unintentionally became a public figure after she welcomed her octuplets in 2009 and was given the nickname “Octomom.” Giving birth to eight healthy babies wasn’t the only shock value, as she was already a mother to her eldest children.
In Touch breaks down everything you need to know about Octomom’s family as she returns to the spotlight with a Lifetime film titled I Was Octomom and new docuseries, Confessions of Octomom.
How Many Kids Does Nadya ‘Octomom’ Suleman Have?
Nadya is the mother of 14 children, with whom she shares a close relationship.
The California native became a first-time parent when she welcomed her eldest child, son Elijah, in 2001. Amerah was born the following year and Joshua joined the family in 2003. Aidan was born in 2005 and Nadya gave birth to twins Calyssa and Caleb in 2006.
Nadya welcomed all of her children via IVF, including her octuplets Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jonah, Makai, Josiah, and Jeremiah.
While trying to conceive after her twins were born, Nadya’s doctor, Dr. Michael Kamrava, implanted her with more embryos than stated in the IVF guidelines. Although Nadya is blessed to be the mother of her 14 children, she admitted one regret through the process.
“I do regret not suing the infertility doctor,” Nadya told People in March 2025. “I definitely regret that because his insurance would’ve been the one paying, and it would’ve been some millions, and it would’ve been helpful for my family.”
Does Nadya ‘Octomom’ Suleman’s Kids Know Their Biological Fathers?
Since Nadya gave birth via IVF, the identity of her sperm donors has remained private.
That said, the octuplets’ sperm donor made a cameo on the March 2025 Lifetime docuseries Confessions of an Octomom. The unidentified male appeared in a confessional interview and confirmed he was the sperm donor of the octuplets while keeping his face off camera.
Nadya ‘Octomom’ Suleman Maintains the Privacy of Her Kids
Nadya and her brood made headlines following the octuplets’ birth, leading the doting mom to not only scale back from the limelight but also take extra precautions to maintain their privacy.
In fact, Nadya learned her lesson from the negative narratives floating around after becoming a mother of 14, leading her to implement stricter rules for her octuplets. In the Suleman household, the octuplets do not have smartphones, are not allowed to go on social media and cannot date until they are legal adults when they turn 18 in 2027.
While raising her eldest six kids, Nadya attended Cal State Fullerton and studied child and adolescent development. Nadya told People in March 2025 that she regretted spoiling the older kids and changed her parenting style once the octuplets were born.
“I personally believe I failed as a parent to implement all of the knowledge I acquired in college,” she told the outlet at the time. “I raised them just permissive, which is wrong. You shouldn’t do that. You should implement consistent structure, discipline and consequences, plus love, unconditional love and acceptance. I only did the latter. I shouldn’t have spoiled them. I learned the hard way. But I still raised them to be kind and humble.”
Nadya changed the tune of her parenting beat by practicing a “combination of unconditional love, positive regard and structured discipline consequences” with the octuplets.
After years of a low-key lifestyle, Nadya and her kids gave rare insight into their family dynamic in the March 2025 Lifetime docuseries I Was Octomom, which was released on March 8, and in a new Lifetime docuseries called Confessions of Octomom, which dropped on March 10.