Octomom’s doctor questioned

LOS ANGELES – The fertility doctor whose in vitro treatments gave Nadya Suleman her octuplets testified Wednesday that more than a decade before she became known as “Octomom,” she had vowed to have 10 children.

“I’m going to have 10 kids; I just want to have a large family,” Dr. Michael Kamrava recalled Suleman saying in their first meeting in 1997. He testified on his treatment of the mother of 14 during his Medical Board of California’s licensing hearing in downtown Los Angeles.

“On average, it was more than others want. However, I didn’t make any judgment on that; that’s a personal decision,” Kamrava said.

The state licensing agency alleges that Kamrava was negligent in the treatment of Suleman and two other patients and is seeking to revoke or suspend his license. The Beverly Hills fertility doctor helped Suleman have octuplets and six other children through in vitro fertilization.

His testimony began tearfully, but Kamrava regained his composure once he delved into his educational background and the evolving science of fertility medicine through the course of his career.

Kamrava said Suleman was already taking hormones to increase her chances for becoming pregnant at the time of their first meeting.

She was “very desirous” of having children, and the then-childless woman told him she had been trying to become pregnant for four years and had suffered a miscarriage, said Kamrava.

Early on, under Kamrava’s recommendation, Suleman underwent artificial insemination because it was cheaper and less invasive, but her ovaries were unresponsive and her embryos were of low quality, so the procedure didn’t take, he said.

In hearings this week, an expert witness for the state testified that Suleman’s medical records show Kamrava implanted 12 embryos in the pregnancy that gave Suleman octuplets. National guidelines recommend no more than two embryos for a woman her age.

In less than eight years, Kamrava repeatedly performed in vitro fertilization for Suleman, implanting her with 60 fresh embryos that resulted in a total of 14 children.

Though he implanted many embryos for each pregnancy, Kamrava said his goal was always to have “singletons,” or single-baby pregnancies.

The octuplets’ birth in January 2009 was hailed by many as a miracle until details of Suleman’s personal life became public, and concern grew for the safety of her 14 children.

Kamrava’s testimony is expected to continue today.