Xtra
The World’s First
Test-Tube Baby
Born July 25, 1978 in Oldham, General
Hospital in England, her birth by caesarean
section shortly before midnight made
headlines around the world
BBC.COM
F
2
Louise Brown —
40 years this year,
was quoted by BBC as
saying that her birth
made her feel special.
“The birth of
Louise Brown,
the first baby
to be produced
through IVF
method took
the world by
storm.”
ORTY years and counting, Louise
Joy Brown is best known as the
world’s first ‘test-tube baby.’ Born
July 25, 1978 in Oldham, General
Hospital in England, her birth by caesarean
section shortly before midnight made head-
lines around the world.
Prior to that, her parents had been trying
to have a baby for nine years. It was when
they met two British doctors who’d been
experimenting with combining sperm and
egg outside the womb and re-implanting
them was where hope prevailed.
DR ROBERT EDWARDS
AND DR PATRICK STEPTOE
An English daily carrying the birth of Louise
Brown on its cover in 1978.
DAILYTELEGRAPH.COM.AU
(Left) Lesley and
John Brown with their
daughter Louise, the
world’s first IVF baby.
Since 1968, Dr Robert Edwards and Dr Pat-
rick Steptoe had been researching fertility
methods that included artificial insemina-
tion and in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Although now widely accepted, the pro-
cess was heavily debated and objected within
the medical and religious circles alike. The
consensus being them playing God.
Nonetheless, Since Louise’s birth in
1978, over eight million babies have been
conceived through IVF.
Louise today works at a Bristol nursery.
“The birth of Louise Brown, the first baby
to be produced through IVF method took
the world by storm,” said United Kingdom
CARE Fertility founder, Professor Simon
Fishel, who was part of the team which not
only engineered the birth of Louise but also
paved the way for other couples around the
world to achieve pregnancy ever since.