Mother of U.S. octuplets issues online plea for financial help

NEW YORK, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. woman who recently gave birth to octuplets and now has 14 children has launched a website asking people to help with the costs of raising her offspring.

Nadya Suleman, 33, an unemployed single woman, gave birth to six boys and two girls in late January after undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment. According to media reports her monthly income is slightly more than $2,300 - she receives $490 a month in food stamps and federal assistance for three of her six older children, who are disabled.

However, she reportedly received $300,000 for her first television interview with NBC.

The website has pictures of the octuplets mixed with hearts, rainbows and the word "love" spelled out in alphabet blocks. A photograph of the mother carried the caption "Proud Mother of 14."

The page also includes a postal address and a phone number for people who want to send items for the babies, as well as links to make a donation or leave a message.

Suleman, who is rumored to have undergone plastic surgery to resemble Angelina Jolie, says she wants to pursue a career as a childcare expert on television. Before giving birth to her first child, Suleman worked as a psychiatric technician and in 2006 she graduated from California State University as a specialist in child and adolescent development.

Preliminary calculations suggest that raising the 14 kids could cost from $1.3 million to $2.7 million without healthcare costs.

The case has sparked controversy in the United States as people struggle with the ongoing financial crisis, and police in California are investigating numerous threats against Suleman and her publicist. Suleman and her children have been moved to an undisclosed location.