Are eight babies too many?

The birth of octuplets in California this week has been splashed across the news as people celebrate the successful birth of the babies, who range in weight from 1 pound, 8 ounces to 3 pounds, 4 ounces.

But while the doctors report the babies are stable now, other medical experts warn that this event is more a cautionary tale than a medical triumph. The babies are automatically at risk for stroke, unexplained death and a range of disabilities. The babies were nine weeks premature and are being fed through tubes or intravenously.

So as much as I think that these eight babies are a miracle, I’m worried about what’s in store for these little ones in the coming days and years as they possibly battle health problems — not to mention the mental and emotional issues of being known as Baby D.

And I can’t help think that maybe the fertility drugs so common today are partly to blame. I went through fertility trauma myself, so I know how easy it is to get desperate about having a baby and be willing to do anything to get pregnant.

But is it worth the risks that these eight babies in California now face? What do you think — when do fertility treatments go too far and end up putting babies and mothers in unnecessary danger?