Record for most babies

RNnL&D · Jun 15, 2005

:rotfl:

A few months ago, we had something like a G18P15 being induced for- get this- maternal exhaustion. Well, no kidding. :chuckle

OBRN2004 · Jun 16, 2005

We had a 34yo G19P18L18 here for delivery. The intern was trying to obtain her history from her, but the pt couldn't remember who was born first or how much they weighed. After 45 minutes of the pt hem-hawing around trying to remember, the intern gave her some paper and a pen and told her when she did remember to write them down. It took her awhile and a few phone calls to complete the list!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

sunnyjohn · Jun 16, 2005

I work in a small rural hospital, and we see a great deal of welfare Moms too. I feel guilty about the way they make me feel. I will never be able to have children because of medical issues (both mine and my husbands). Then I see a 14 year old girl waddling down the hallway, pregnant with twins and a kid in a stroller, surrounded by other teen girls either pregnant or carrying kids. Boyfriend is in jail for meth. Nobody in this party speaks english. I always considered myself a very open accepting and non judgemental person. But since I started working as a nurse and see so many of my patients that are here for the drugs and the room service... and it's all on the tax payers dime... then I see how much of my paycheck is lost to taxes... it's difficult sometimes for me to keep being open.
I don't let it effect my work or the care I give my patients. In fact, my ablity to keep open is one of the reason that most of the psych issue patients get assigned to me. :-)
About a month ago I was taking care of a 13 year old girl who had just experienced her second miscarriage. In the ER her mom was very concerned and wanted to know how long her daughter would have to wait before she could start having sex again.
I see so many bad examples, and so few good ones. I'm also an only child, so I didn't have the benefit of siblings to temper my views on high birth numbers.
There are so many unwanted, unloved, uncared for children in this world. It makes me sad to see more coming in. Please understand, I also know people and have cared for patients that had lots of children. Beautiful, well behaved, joyfull, cared for children. It's just my personal issues that I'm working on right now.
Maythen

No harm. Even the most open-minded, the most liberal or the most culturally excepting person can get weary at times.

I wish you and your husband success.

:)

momto4nurse · Jun 16, 2005

I am the 8th child of 12. My mom had 6 boys and 6 girls, and yes I think it must have been cheaper by the dozen back then! (70's) :rotfl: We were well loved, and adequately cared for. I didn't get everything I wanted as a kid, but few do! Plus, I had all the built-in playmates I could want! LOL We still all communicate and have familiy reunions. There are over 36 grandchildren, and many more on the way I am sure. I have seen the other side of it though, just the other day a mom came to the postpartum unit after having her 9th baby, positive for meth and dying to go outside for a smoke.

donmomofnine · Jun 16, 2005

There are certainly those with large families who give the rest of us a bad name! I remember once when I worked maternity, I sent home baby 8 in a vehicle that was a gutted VW bug! Mom and Dad, new babe, and five other children were in that car!:uhoh21:

I love having nine kids. :)

imenid37 · Jun 16, 2005

I have no problems w/ large families if parents can afford it or will pay for kids and their needs (example Amish and Menonites who live a thrifty lifestyle). I know of two couples one w/ 11 one w/ 15 who are married in their 30's who get MA and food stamps because they have a pretty good family income (70K for the second lady, probably 50k for the 1st) but such a huge # of kids. These folks can't afford these kids. What you do is you own business until you want others to pay for it. IMHO. I know this sounds mean, but these ladies come in to deliver and complain about everything and want more and more financial support. School nurse friend who also works in OB has had issues w/ 2nd lady f/u for things like eye glasses for her kids and dental care. She is too busy taking care of little ones to ferry older ones around! Both ladies love babies and enjoy being pregnant.

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 16, 2005

I have no problems w/ large families if parents can afford it or will pay for kids and their needs (example Amish and Menonites who live a thrifty lifestyle). I know of two couples one w/ 11 one w/ 15 who are married in their 30's who get MA and food stamps because they have a pretty good family income (70K for the second lady, probably 50k for the 1st) but such a huge # of kids. These folks can't afford these kids. What you do is you own business until you want others to pay for it. IMHO. I know this sounds mean, but these ladies come in to deliver and complain about everything and want more and more financial support. School nurse friend who also works in OB has had issues w/ 2nd lady f/u for things like eye glasses for her kids and dental care. She is too busy taking care of little ones to ferry older ones around! Both ladies love babies and enjoy being pregnant.

I agree. If they can afford it and don't ask me to subsidize their large family lifestyle, it's their business. But people on public assistance, to me, have no right to keep having babies. The rest of us stop at what we can afford, why shouldn't they?!

But, for me, there is also the troubling ecological issue. An overcrowded planet can't support the current and continual exponential growth of population worldwide, unabated----- and unless things change over the years (we learn new ways of farming and pollution control for example).

I wish adoption were not so difficult or bureaucratic/prohibitive. But that is another thread.

rn/writer, RN · Jun 16, 2005

I grew up as the eldest of five, but our extended family was very small. My mother was a lonely only and my father had one sister. Our entire clan consisted of our immediate family, two sets of grandparents, one aunt, one uncle, and two cousins. In grade school, I envied kids who talked about going up north to visit their flocks of cousins.

Boy, has my life changed. I married a man whose father was one of six and whose mother was one of twelve. We have six kids and the three oldest have given us nine grandchildren. My kids have thirteen cousins on my side and nineteen on their dad's side. Not to mention significant others and kids' kids.

I'm happy that my children are part of a large tribe. I'm enjoying vicariously what I didn't have when I was growing up.

The negative side of the large-family discussion has already been brought up and I have seen some of that first hand as well. I have a niece who is 23 and has four children with four different men. One has been taken from her permanently and was formally adopted by her parents. Two others are in foster care until she can "get her act together." The fourth was born premature and with Down's syndrome earlier this year. The last we heard, she is taking the newest baby to all kinds of appointments and enjoying the attention she is getting from social workers and health care folks. She's getting a lot of supervision right now because of the baby's needs and because of her track record of parental neglect and mental health issues. I wonder what will happen when that lets up and she has to take care of a challenging child on her own.

For the record, many family members have tried to reach out to this girl over the years. One of my daughters took her in twice, once with the middle two kids, and the rest of us pitched in to try to help her gather what she needed to live on her own. For a short time, she looked like she might be ready to settle down and be a good mama but ended up leaving her kids and disappearing for months. The next time she showed up, she was pregnant with the fourth.

I know the issue of reproductive rights is a hot one but with rights come responsibilities. It's hard to know where the lines should be drawn, but we ought to be able to set some kind of limits on women (AND men!!!) who bring child after child into the world with no means (and often no ability or desire) to support them. Meth babies, crack babies, kids who suffer from neglect and abuse, shaken babies, attachment disordered ice-children who are sociopaths in the making. It is flat out wrong for "parents" to keep churning out kid after damaged kid who can't help but repeat the process.

Miranda F.

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 16, 2005

I grew up as the eldest of five but our extended family was very small. My mother was an only and my father had one sister. Our entire clan consisted of our immediate family, two sets of grandparents, one aunt, one uncle, and two cousins. In grade school, I envied kids who talked about going up north to visit their flocks of cousins.
Boy, has my life changed. I married a man whose father was one of six and whose mother was one of twelve. We have six kids and the three oldest have given us nine grandchildren. My kids have thirteen cousins on my side and nineteen on their dad's side. Not to mention significant others and kids' kids.
I'm happy that my children are part of a large tribe. I'm enjoying vicariously what I didn't have when I was growing up.
The negative side of the large-family discussion has already been brought up and I have seen some of that first hand as well. I have a niece who is 23 and has 4 children with four different men. One has been taken from her permanently and was formally adopted by her parents. Two others are in foster care until she can "get her act together." The fourth was born premature and with Down's syndrome earlier this year. The last we heard, she is taking the newest baby to all kinds of appointments and enjoying the attention she is getting from social workers and health care folks. She's getting a lot of supervision right now because of the baby's needs and because of her track record of parental neglect and mental health issues. I wonder what will happen when that lets up and she has to take care of a challenging child on her own.
For the record, many family members have tried to reach out to this girl over the years. One of my daughters took her in twice, once with the middle two kids, and the rest of us pitched in to try to help her gather what she needed to live on her own. For a short time, she looked like she might be ready to settle down and be a good mama but ended up leaving her kids and disappearing for months. The next time she showed up, she was pregnant with the fourth.
I know the issue of reproductive rights is a hot one but with rights come reposnsibilities. It's hard to know where the lines should be drawn, but we ought to be able to set some kind of limits on women (AND men!!!) who bring child after child into the world with no means (and often no ability or desire) to support them. Meth babies, crack babies, kids who suffer from neglect and abuse, shaken babies, attachment disordered ice-children who are sociopaths in the making. It is flat out wrong for "parents" to keep churning out kid after damaged kid who can't help but repeat the process.
Miranda F.

Thank you. This is a very good post. :)

PeachPie · Mar 15, 2006

Question: are there any long-term effects of having so many children? All I can think of off the top of my head is prolapsed uterus.

I know what you mean about cranking out kids without the means. I lived near a housing project and in a trailer park, and saw several apartments/ trailers that were the equivilent of 50 clowns in a VW bug.

I learned it my Women's Studies class that in the times before Social Security and other programs, children were cheaper by the dozen, so enforcing birth control in third world countries is not a panacea. However, since we're not agricultural, child labor is discouraged, and that it's more expensive to raise children, having several children is counterproductive.

nursepenny · Mar 15, 2006

I am the 6th of 10 children. The youngest boy was stilborn. (6 girls, 4 boys). I am now 51 and when we were growing up, we lived on a farm. So all of our food was home grown. Mama made most of our clothes.

I remember going to school barefooted, which was acceptable at that time. Even now, I hate wearing shoes.

I had one daughter and 1 miscarriage myself.. I don't have any grands and probably never will, as my daughter is now 34.

The most children my siblings have had are 4, with most having 2-3 each. There are 22 grands with most of these now starting their own families. 2 brothers died without having children of their own.

I cannot imagine having to feed or clothe 10 children at today's prices. But then I cannot imagine not being from a big family. When my mother died, it was the hardest time of my life and my sisters and i helped each other through it.

I hate my daughter will not have that companionship when I die.....

Sorry got off the subject. Had an aunt who had 13 births. Only 11 lived to adulthood.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Mar 15, 2006

My maternal great-granfather had 19 children with 2 different women, my great-grandmother died in while in chilbirth. My paternal great-grandparents had 15 children.