Chukwu octuplets: Difference between revisions

The six girls and two boys were born in December 1998 at [[St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital]] in [[Houston, Texas]]. Their parents — mother, Nkem Chukwu and father, Iyke Louis Udobi — are both [[Nigeria]]n-born American citizens.<ref name=NYT>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06E5D6133FF932A05751C1A96E958260&pagewanted=print "Mother of the Octuplets Goes Home to Recover"], by Rick Lyman, ''[[The New York Times]],'' December 31, 1998; retrieved January 10, 2008</ref>

All weighed under two pounds (900 [[gram]]) at the time of birth.<ref name="HChron"/> The first born, Ebuka, was delivered on December 8, 15 weeks [[Preterm birth|premature]]. The remaining 7 octuplets were born by [[Caesareancaesarean section]] on December 20, 13 weeks premature. The smallest of the octuplets, Odera, died on December 27, a week after birth. (sheShe was the lightest of the 8 babies, weighing just over {{convert|300 grams (10&nbsp;|g|oz)|abbr=off}}. The obstetrician was Brian Kirshon, a well-known physician practicing in Houston.{{Cn|date=April 2023}}

The seven remaining octuplets celebrated their 10th birthday in Houston on December 20, 2008, in the company of volunteers who helped in their early years. The five girls and two boys arewere reported to be "normal, active and bright fourth-graders."<ref name="HChron">[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6175553.html "Houston octuplets celebrate 10th birthday"], by Jennifer Leahy, from the [[Houston Chronicle]] website, December 20, 2008, retrieved February 2, 2009</ref>

{| class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9;

| {{convert|690 |g (22 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|760 |g (24.4 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|800 |g (25.7 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|730 |g (23.5 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|320 |g (10.3 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|500 |g (16.0 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|810 |g (26.0 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

| {{convert|520 |g (16.7 |oz.)|abbr=on}}

Early January 2009, Nkem Chukwu and her husband, Iyke Louis Udobi, appeared January 27, 2009, for the first time in 10 years on national TV on ABC's ''[[Good Morning America]]'' in a prerecorded segment where they commented on the birth of the new [[Suleman octuplets]]. The next day, January 28, 2009, the whole family along with grandmother Janet Chukwu appeared on NBC's ''[[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]]'',<ref name="The Today Show">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090129171252/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28891400/ "Houston octuplets visit The Today Show"], by Michael Inbar, from [[Today (NBC program)|The Today Show]] website, January 28, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2009</ref> which was the first time the octuplets appeared on national television since their first birthdays. Later that day, they were whisked to the [[Associated Press]] (AP) World Headquarters for a TV interview for the world newswires. On Monday February 2, theyNkem Chukwu released the statement: "In light of the Bellflower mom, Nadya Suleman's story, I spoke on ''The Today Show''.<ref name="The Today Show" /> When asked, Iyke Louis Udobi stated in their recent AP interview that 'if you can take care of one, you can take care of eight'.<ref name="AP Interview">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-alvC4AW3I&feature=channel_page "Houston Octuplet dad tells AP parents who can take care of one baby can do the same with 8!"], by Bonny Goach, from [[Associated Press]] TV website, January 28, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2009</ref> They also appeared on the ''[[Larry King Live]]'' show in a segment titled "Octuplet Outrage" focusing on the worldwide coverage generated by [[Nadya Suleman]]'s 14 children and the ethical and medical controversy.<ref name="Larry King Live">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcTGQFHnUXY "Chukwu Octuplets visit Larry King Live"]</ref> On February 9, 2009, Nkem and Iyke Chukwu appeared on Radio One's talk show ''The [[Mo'Nique]] show''.<ref name="Mo'Nique Show">[http://www.firstoctuplets.com/2009/02/our-interview-with-comedienne-and-radio.html "Chukwu Octuplets parents on the Mo'Nique radio show"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121005347/http://www.firstoctuplets.com/2009/02/our-interview-with-comedienne-and-radio.html |date=2016-01-21 }} February 9, 2009, retrieved February 10, 2009</ref> They also appeared Sunday February 15, 2009, on a local TV segment on KHOU-TV, Houston, Texas, on a family update.<ref name="KHOU-TV">[http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090216_tnt_houston-octuplets.1f895e89.html "Houston Octuplets weigh in on California multiples"] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.istoday/20090219165728/http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090216_tnt_houston-octuplets.1f895e89.html |date=February 19, 2009 }}, by KHOU-TV, Houston from the KHOU-TV website, February 16, 2009, retrieved February 18, 2009</ref> They also appeared on CNN's AC360 on February 18, 2009. The family Publicist, Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo, told media that Nkem Chukwu only wanted to address the health and well-being of the Suleman octuplets rather than the controversy about the number of children Suleman had. Nkem Chukwu later addressed the Nadya Suleman octuplet row with Randi Kaye of CNN's ''Anderson Cooper 360'' show on February 18, 2009.<ref name="AC360">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090221211334/http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/18/growing-up-in-a-family-of-octuplets/ "Growing up as Octuplets"], by CNN-TV's Anderson Cooper 360, from the AC360 blog, February 18, 2009, retrieved February 18, 2009</ref>