Louise Joy Brown was born in England on July 25, 1978, and as the world’s first “test-tube baby,” her birth immediately attracted media attention.
Brown was the first baby born through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
According to History.com, her mother, Leslie, and father, Peter, struggled with infertility due to Leslie’s blocked fallopian tubes.
In November 1977, Leslie underwent an experimental in vitro fertilization procedure: according to sources, a mature egg was taken from one of her ovaries and mixed with one of Peter’s sperm in a laboratory dish to form an embryo.
Louise Brown was the first baby born through IVF. She was born on July 25, 1978. (Michel ARTAULT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images I Alex Zea/Europa Press via Getty Images)
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A few days later, the embryo was transferred into Leslie’s uterus, and nine months later, her daughter was born via Caesarean section.
The success of the IVF treatment was made possible by British scientist Robert Edwards and gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe, who gave Brown her middle name Joy and delivered her at Oldham and District General Hospital in Manchester, England, according to Brown’s website.
Brown’s birth was highly publicized at the time and was widely criticized, but Brown himself defended his parents and the promotion of scientific birth.
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“My parents had no choice but to go public,” Louise previously told Time magazine. “If they hadn’t, people would have asked, ‘Why can’t I see her? What’s going on?'”
Louise Brown’s birth was highly publicized by her parents, a decision that she has supported as an adult, and she made numerous media appearances from an early age to demonstrate the success of her surgery. (Getty Images)
She said Steptoe and Edwards should have made it public that her birth was a success.
“If there had been something wrong with me, that would have been the end of IVF,” she said.
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Following the birth of Louise, the Browns had a second daughter, Natalie, through IVF.
Growing up, Louise and Natalie both had children of their own the natural way.
After Brown’s successful birth, IVF slowly began to catch on, with the first IVF baby being born in the United States in 1981, according to Time magazine.
In 2018, London’s Science Museum celebrated the 40th anniversary of Louise Brown’s birth with a series of special events at the museum, including an exhibition featuring the glass incubator that inspired her creation. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
To date, more than six million babies have been born through IVF, according to the Science Museum.
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According to Forbes magazine, the average bike ride in the United States costs about $15,000 to $30,000 per trip.
Success rates vary widely depending on the age of the woman undergoing the procedure. For women under 35, the first-time success rate is 55.1%, according to a 2020 CDC report. As women get older, the success rate starts to decrease.
Brown remains vocal about being born through IVF, giving numerous public speeches about her experience and even writing an autobiography called “Louise Brown: My Life as the World’s First Test-Tube Baby.”
