The Case of Bobbi McCaughey

Melaleuca’s emphasis on using only those quality products which have been validated and well researched has had some interesting repercussions in the community at large. Not the least of these is the case of Bobbi McCaughey, the Iowa woman whose claim to fame is the delivery of seven living children at one birth.

When Bobbi had recovered from the news that she was pregnant seven times over (if, indeed, she ever did recover!), she was very concerned about nutrition. Her pastor’s wife, Ginny Brown, is a Melaleuca Marketing Executive. Ginny suggested that Bobbi use the Vitality Pack. Of course, Bobbi had to have her doctors look over the specifications of the Vitality Pack. They examined the ingredients closely before approving them. Bobbi embarked upon a regimen of three each of the vitamin and mineral supplements from the Vitality Pack, and three ProVex Plus capsules daily. The most distinctive advantage of the Vitality Pack is the high absorption of minerals which is due to Melaleuca’s patented fructose-compounding process.

Bobbi says, “We thought it would be a great help during the pregnancy and that it would be much more usable—as far as being absorbed by my body—than a regular prenatal vitamin would be.”

A pregnant woman has very special nutritional needs. For instance, Bobbi was supposed to eat 4,000 calories a day, but she could not eat that much. “I needed to eat something every forty minutes and I just couldn’t.”

Zinc and calcium are especially needed, even during a normal pregnancy. In this case, the situation was even more extreme—Bobbi was carrying seven babies. So it was absolutely essential that she had the right nutrition. But, for the first five months of the pregnancy, she was so sick she could hardly eat at all. Once she got to the hospital she was able to eat a little bit more, but she says, “But then I had hospital food, so I didn’t want to eat any more! So it was good to have something that was really able to boost the vitamins and minerals I didn’t get from the food.”

The circumstances of a pregnancy seven-times over needed very special precautions—and Bobbi was told by her doctors to stay in bed for the last five months of the pregnancy. This immediately introduced other possible problems—blood clotting in the legs, reduced muscle tone, and loss of bone mass. Also, a common aspect of multiple pregnancies is that blood pressure can rapidly escalate to abnormal proportions. The doctors who had examined the ingredients of the Vitality Pack told Bobbi to take three each of the vitamin and mineral tablets every day—and she never had any problems with blood pressure.

Ginny, knowing that it might be difficult for the McCaughey’s to pay for the vitamins, called Tish Poling in the president’s office and Tish discreetly arranged that the McCaugheys would get everything they needed from Melaleuca—without any intrusive publicity.

When Bobbi was asked how she felt during this period, she replied, “I felt really good. It wasn’t until probably the last week and a half that I really felt terrible. By that time, the contractions had started and I was on other medications to stop them.”

Of course, Frank VanderSloot was proud that Melaleuca’s vitamins and minerals had been used in such a medically-sensitive situation. He said, “We’re really pleased that the McCaugheys decided to use our vitamins, and that the result has been so great. Our hopes and prayers are with them as they prepare for the wonderful experiences ahead.”

Well, the results have become world-wide news. Bobbi did deliver her seven bouncing bundles of joy—the first woman in history to do so. Naturally, the credit should go to her and her team of doctors. Still, there is no doubt that Melaleuca’s policy of credible testing and high-quality product meant that the Vitality Pack was well up to their standards.

A comic side-light to the Bobbi McCaughey case took place during one of Frank VanderSloot’s talks. While addressing a roomful of people, Frank mentioned that Bobbi had been taking the Vitality Pack.

“All of a sudden,” Frank said, “from the back of the room, a woman screamed, ‘OH MY GOSH!’ It seems she was a new customer and she’d just started taking the Vitality Pack herself. She was concerned that somehow that was what caused the seven babies!”

Partly because of Bobbi McCaughey’s experience with the Vitality Pack, Melaleuca has now introduced the Vitality Pack Prenatal. This new formulation is specifically designed for the nutritional needs of a woman during her pregnancy.

Here's a link to the article I came across today about the McCaughey septuplets.

~ Richard M Barry