LOS ANGELES - NADYA Suleman apparently has bigger worries than taking care of her 14 children. A TV talk show host says she told him that she fears the hospital may not release her newborn octuplets to her.

Dr Phil McGraw said the 33-year-old unemployed mother called him on Tuesday, distraught that Kaiser Permanente officials told her they were concerned about the babies living at her home in suburban Los Angeles.

'What she is telling me is that unless and until she has a better living arrangement, that they are not likely to release the children to her,' Mr McGraw told the Los Angeles Times. Ms Suleman has taped two episodes of McGraw's 'Dr Phil' show. The first was scheduled to air on Wednesday.

Ms Suleman gave birth to the octuplets Jan 26 in Kaiser's hospital in nearby Bellflower. She has six other children, lives in her mother's three-bedroom home in Whittier and relies on government food aid and disability income to provide for them.

The home is under threat of foreclosure and could be sold at auction beginning May 5 because Ms Suleman's mother is US$23,225 (S$35,600) behind in her mortgage payments, property records show.

Kaiser officials declined to comment on Ms Suleman's case. 'Any conversations that the mother may or may not have had on this topic are private and we could not discuss them,' said Kaiser spokesman Jim Anderson.

Social workers evaluate parents of very premature babies to determine what services the children and family may be entitled to, said Vicky Bermudez, a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at the Kaiser hospital in Roseville. The octuplets were born nine weeks premature.

'If they feel there's a risk to a baby, they contact Child Protective Services and Child Protective Services would make a determination as to whether or not there's a reason for concern,' Ms Bermudez said.

Meanwhile, Suleman is being offered $1 million to star in hardcore porn. Vivid Entertainment spokesman Jackie Martin said the offer also promises a year of health insurance for her family.

Vivid said the offer was sent on Tuesday via overnight mail and there has been no immediate response. The offer letter says Suleman's video would be distributed under the Vivid-Celeb imprint, which has released videos starring Pamela Anderson and Kim Kardashian. -- AP