As more details emerge about the birth of octuplets on Monday, fertility specialists and medical ethicists are debating who should be a candidate for fertility treatments and how much help they should get.

The California mother who gave birth to the octuplets is a single mother who already has six children under the age of eight. And she reportedly used fertility treatments to conceive. Even though the babies appear to be doing well now, the chance of developmental delay and disability for children in extreme multiple births is much higher than for single births.

It is unclear if the mother had eight embryos implanted or if some of the embryos split. But professional guidelines for fertility doctors recommend implanting no more than two embryos at a time in a woman under age 35. The woman was reportedly offered selective reduction, but declined, reports CNN. To read more click here.

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