Nurse: Octuplet Mom Nadya Suleman Doesn't Care About Kids

March 25, 2009— -- A nurse who had been helping provide care for some of Nadya Suleman's octuplets said today that Suleman appeared disinterested in her children.

Linda West-Conforti, the founder of Angels in Waiting, said today on the "Dr. Phil Show" that Suleman did not care about her children, only voluntarily fed them when a film crew was there, and spent too much time away from home.

"This woman does not care for these kids, that's my honest opinion," she said.

Earlier this week, Suleman fired Angels in Waiting, a nonprofit group of nurses that helped care for her children, accusing the group of being unprofessional, spying on her and reporting her to child welfare officials.

Suleman's attorney, Jeff Czech, said today on "Dr. Phil" that Suleman will have her nannies trained by nurses from the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center, where the octuplets were born on Jan. 26.

Four of the eight infants have been discharged from the hospital, according to Kaiser Permanente, and brought home amid a throng of reporters and onlookers.

"There has not been a step down in care in this household," Czech said, adding, "Nadya is a very good mother, a very caring mother."

Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Angels in Waiting, said today that she was concerned for the safety of the children, saying that security at Suleman's home was lax.

Last month, Allred asked child welfare officials to investigate whether Suleman could provide a suitable environment for her 14 children. Angels in Waiting also reportedly made three reports to child welfare officials.

A spokeswoman for the Orange County Division of Children and Family Services declined to comment, citing state privacy laws.

Czech told the Associated Press that the relationship started badly between Suleman and Angels in Waiting.

"It started out adversarial and never really resolved itself," he said. "Nadya felt that she was being judged wrongfully, and she didn't need it. All it did was make a difficult situation worse."

Record Octuplet Birth Sparks Controversy

When Suleman gave birth to the history-making octuplets in January, a string of controversies soon followed.

Days after news of the multiple birth spread from coast to coast, it came to light that the 33-year-old mother already had six children who were born, like the octuplets, through in vitro fertilization.

Suleman's mother, Angela Suleman, has been vocal about her disapproval.

"It can't go on any longer," she told The Associated Press in January. "She's got six children and no husband. I was brought up the traditional way. I firmly believe in marriage. But she didn't want to get married."

In February, she said her daughter's decision to impregnate herself again after giving birth to six children was "really unconscionable," and she said her daughter has "no means to support" 14 children.

Thousands of California taxpayers voiced their disapproval on message boards when they learned they could be the ones footing the bill for the octuplets' expensive hospital stay, estimated in February to be in the neighborhood of $1 million.