Just How Expensive are Octuplets?

Children aren’t cheap

Nadya Suleman

Nadya Suleman has quickly skyrocketed to fame after she gave birth to octuplets. Adding to the shock value is the fact that she already has six children.

Everyone knows children are expensive. Suleman created a web site asking for cash donations to help raise them. But a few payday-loan-sized donations aren’t going to go very far.

Expensive conception

Suleman underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive all of her children. IVF costs about $15,000 per egg, so  for all 14 of her children, Suleman must have paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $105,000.

Special delivery

Delivering one baby costs between $8,000 and $15,000. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical officer, says delivering Suleman’s eight babies probably cost between $1.5 and $3 million. Suleman won’t have to pay for this herself, though. Kaiser Permanente Hospital has asked California’s Medi-Cal program to pay it. So the taxpayers of California will be splitting this hospital bill.

Higher education

Suleman already owes $50,000 for student loans. However, she still plans to go back to California State University to finish her master’s degree. And that’s only for her own education. If she spends $50,000 on each of her14  kids for college, the total will be $700,000.  However, the cost of education is bound to rise quite a bit in the next 18 years. Her only choice may be to turn her life into a reality show. But even that might not be enough.

Odds and ends

Small, everyday expenses get big very quickly when you need eight of everything. She will probably be spending about $800 per month on diapers for a while. If she buys all eight babies pacifiers for $3 each, that will cost $24. If she wants to take her babies somewhere all at once, she will need car seats. If she spends $80 on each one, that’s $640. Toss in the cost of a 15-seat vehicle, and you’re looking at a high cost for family outings.