Octuplets PR team 'death threats'

The octuplets were delivered nine weeks early (photo: NBC)

The public relations firm representing the California woman who gave birth to octuplets says it is stepping down after getting death threats.

The Killeen Furtney Group has received dozens of threats, the head of the Los Angeles agency, Joann Killeen, told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

Nadya Suleman, 33, gave birth to the eight babies on 26 January.

The single mother of six other children has been criticised for using fertility treatments and receiving state aid.

All 14 of her children were born through in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Wood chipper threat

Ms Killeen said she had received more than 100 e-mailed threats and many others that were left on the agency's voice-mail, AP reported.

"They'd put me in the wood chipper and throw me in the bottom of the ocean and hope I die," she is quoted as saying.

Some of the threats were also directed at Ms Suleman, she said.

"We've never had a public reaction to us representing a client pro bono like this, ever."

Ms Suleman hired the agency shortly after the octuplets were born. Ms Killeen made a flurry of TV appearances, saying her client had been deluged with offers to tell her story.

But public reaction to the story soured after it was revealed that Ms Suleman was a single-mother receiving state aid to help her raise her other six children, aged two to seven.

Her use of IVF to give birth to 14 children has also been criticised by fertility experts.

They have raised concerns about the number of embryos transferred into Ms Suleman's uterus and questioned whether medical guidelines were met.

Ms Suleman has said having a "huge family" was her "dream".

The octuplets were delivered nine weeks early by Caesarean section in a hospital near Los Angeles and all are reported to be doing well.