Louise Brown

Last updated

Louise Brown
Born (1978-07-25) 25 July 1978 (age 46)
Oldham, England
Spouse
Wesley Mullinder
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2

Louise Joy Brown (born 25 July 1978) is an English woman noted as the first human born following conception by in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Her birth, following a procedure pioneered in Britain, has been lauded among "the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th century".

Contents

Life

Brown's parents, Lesley and John Brown, had been trying to conceive naturally for nine years but Lesley faced complications from blocked fallopian tubes. [1] On 10 November 1977, Lesley underwent the procedure that later became known as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), developed by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards, and Jean Purdy. Although the media would refer to Brown as a "test tube baby", [2] her conception actually took place in a Petri dish. Purdy was the first to see Brown's embryonic cells dividing. [3]

Louise Joy Brown was born on 25 July 1978 at Oldham's General Hospital, via a planned C-section performed by John Webster. [4] She weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces (2.608 kg) at birth. [1] In 1982, Brown's sister Natalie was born after also being conceived through IVF, becoming the world's 40th such live birth; in May 1999, Natalie became the first human conceived by IVF to herself give birth, though she did so without IVF. [1]

In 2004, Brown married nightclub doorman Wesley Mullinder; Edwards, the only surviving member from the trio who pioneered IVF, attended their wedding. [1] Their first son, conceived naturally, [2] was born on 20 December 2006. [5] She has since had another child. [6] Brown's father died in 2006 at the age of 64, [7] while her mother died in 2012 due to complications from a gallbladder infection, also at the age of 64. [7] [8]

Recognition

Brown's birth has been lauded as one of the "most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th century". [9] [10] [11] [12]

Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work. [13]

In 2022, a plaque was installed on Royal Oldham Hospital to record the importance of Purdy and Sister Muriel Harris to the work. [14]

Ethical and religious issues

Although the Browns knew the procedure was experimental, the doctors did not tell them that no case had yet resulted in a baby, prompting questions of informed consent. [15]

In 1978, when asked for his reaction to Brown's birth, Cardinal Albino Luciani (who was then the Patriarch of Venice and later became Pope John Paul I) expressed concerns about the possibility that artificial insemination could lead to women being used as "baby factories" but also noted that the Browns simply wanted to have a baby and refused to condemn them. [16] [17]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In vitro fertilisation</span> Assisted reproductive technology procedure

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova from her ovaries and enabling a man's sperm to fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After a fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is transferred by catheter into the uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) is a tool of assisted reproductive technology against infertility. Eggs are removed from a woman's ovaries, and placed in one of the fallopian tubes, along with the man's sperm. The technique, first attempted by Steptoe and Edwards and later pioneered by endocrinologist Ricardo Asch, allows fertilization to take place inside the woman's uterus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority</span>

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the United Kingdom providing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination and the storage of human eggs, sperm or embryos. It also regulates human embryo research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pregnancy over age 50</span>

Pregnancy over the age of 50 has become possible for more women because of advances in assisted reproductive technology, in particular egg donation. Typically, a woman's fecundity ends with menopause, which, by definition, is 12 consecutive months without any menstrual flow at all. During perimenopause, the menstrual cycle and the periods become irregular and eventually stop altogether. The female biological clock can vary greatly from woman to woman. A woman's individual level of fertility can be tested through a variety of methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Steptoe</span> English gynaecologist (1913–1988)

Patrick Christopher Steptoe CBE FRS was an English obstetrician and gynaecologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards and the nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy for developing in vitro fertilisation. Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born on 25 July 1978. Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the development of in vitro fertilisation; Steptoe and Purdy were not eligible for consideration because the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisted reproductive technology</span> Methods to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryos, and/or the use of fertility medication. When used to address infertility, ART may also be referred to as fertility treatment. ART mainly belongs to the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Some forms of ART may be used with regard to fertile couples for genetic purpose. ART may also be used in surrogacy arrangements, although not all surrogacy arrangements involve ART. The existence of sterility will not always require ART to be the first option to consider, as there are occasions when its cause is a mild disorder that can be solved with more conventional treatments or with behaviors based on promoting health and reproductive habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Oldham Hospital</span> Hospital in England

The Royal Oldham Hospital is a NHS hospital in the Coldhurst area of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It is managed by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital has its own volunteer-run radio station, Radio Cavell, which broadcasts at 1350 AM.

Elizabeth Jordan Carr is the United States' first baby born from the in-vitro fertilization procedure and the 15th in the world. The technique was conducted at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk under the direction of Doctors Howard Jones and Georgeanna Seegar Jones, who were the first to attempt the process in the United States. She was delivered at Norfolk General Hospital in Virginia by Dr. Mason Andrews weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgeanna Seegar Jones</span> American gynecologist

Georgeanna Seegar Jones was an American reproductive endocrinologist who with her husband, Howard W. Jones, pioneered in vitro fertilization in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Edwards (physiologist)</span> English physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine (1925–2013)

Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards was a British physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine, and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in particular. Along with obstetrician and gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy, Edwards successfully pioneered conception through IVF, which led to the birth of Louise Brown on 25 July 1978. They founded the first IVF programme for infertile patients and trained other scientists in their techniques. Edwards was the founding editor-in-chief of Human Reproduction in 1986. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the development of in vitro fertilization".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subhash Mukhopadhyay (physician)</span> Indian physician (1931–1981)

Subhash Mukherjee was an Indian scientist, physician who created the world's second and India's first child using in-vitro fertilisation. Kanupriya Agarwal (Durga), who was born in 1978, just 67 days after the first IVF baby in United Kingdom. Afterwards, Dr. Subhash Mukherjee was harassed by the then West Bengal state government and Indian Government are not allowed to share his achievements with the international scientific community. Dejected, he committed suicide on 19 June 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Brinsden</span> British fertility doctor

Peter Robert Brinsden MBBS, MRCS, LRCP, FRCOG is known for the treatment of infertility in couples. From 1989 to 2006 he was the medical director of Bourn Hall Clinic in the UK, a leading centre for the treatment of fertility problems, and where about 6,000 babies have been conceived using IVF and other assisted conception treatments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bourn Hall Clinic</span> Hospital in Cambridgeshire, England

Bourn Hall Clinic in Bourn, Cambridgeshire, England, is a centre for the treatment of infertility. The original building, Bourn Hall, is about 400 years old. Since becoming a medical centre, it has been greatly extended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Webster (doctor)</span> English doctor

John Webster FRCOG is an English obstetrician and gynaecologist. Present at the world's first in vitro fertilisation (IVF) birth, Louise Brown, Webster has continued to develop and further research in the field of IVF.

Cryopreservation of embryos is the process of preserving an embryo at sub-zero temperatures, generally at an embryogenesis stage corresponding to pre-implantation, that is, from fertilisation to the blastocyst stage.

Natural Cycle In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technique designed to closely mimic a woman's natural menstrual cycle. In traditional IVF, a woman's ovaries are stimulated with fertility medications to produce multiple eggs, which are then retrieved and fertilized outside the body. A natural cycle IVF, on the other hand, works with the woman's natural hormonal fluctuations and ovulation cycle.

The history of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) goes back more than half a century. In 1959 the first birth in a nonhuman mammal resulting from IVF occurred, and in 1978 the world's first baby conceived by IVF was born. As medicine advanced, IVF was transformed from natural research to a stimulated clinical treatment. There have been many refinements in the IVF process, and today millions of births have occurred with the help of IVF all over the world.

Simon Fishel is an English physiologist, biochemist and pioneering in vitro fertilisation (IVF) specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Purdy</span> English embryologist and fertility nurse (1945–1985)

Jean Marian Purdy was a British nurse, embryologist and pioneer of fertility treatment. She was responsible with Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe for developing in vitro fertilisation. Louise Joy Brown, the first test-tube baby, was born on 25 July 1978, and Purdy was the first to see the embryonic cells dividing.

<i>Joy</i> (2024 film) British biographical drama film

Joy is a 2024 British biographical drama film starring Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton. Directed by Ben Taylor from a screenplay by Jack Thorne, it is the true story of the world's first in vitro fertilisation baby Louise Brown. It was produced by Wildgaze and Pathé for Netflix.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "World's first IVF baby marks 30th birthday", Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine Agence France-Presse, 23 July 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  2. 1 2 Hall, Sarah (11 July 2006). "Louise Brown, first test tube baby, is pregnant". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Weule, Genelle (25 July 2018). "The first IVF baby was born 40 years ago today". ABC News . Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Hutchinson, Martin (24 July 2003). "I helped deliver Louise". BBC News. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Baby son joy for test-tube mother". BBC News . 14 January 2007.
  6. ↑ "The first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978 in the United Kingdom". KrishnaIVF News . 14 January 2007.
  7. 1 2 Grady, Denise (23 June 2012). "Lesley Brown, Mother of World's First 'Test-Tube Baby,' Dies at 64", The New York Times . Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "First test tube baby mother Lesley Brown dies". BBC News . 20 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  9. ↑ Walsh, Fergus (14 July 2008). "30th birthday for first IVF baby". BBC News . Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Louise Brown and Her Parents | Encyclopedia.com". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  11. ↑ "Louise Brown: World's first IVF baby's family archive unveiled". BBC News. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "'I was the world's first IVF baby, and this is my story'". The Independent. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Wade, Nicholas (4 October 2010). "Pioneer of in Vitro Fertilisation Wins Nobel Prize". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  14. ↑ "Unsung heroine who saved refugees from Nazis honoured in Leeds". The Guardian. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  15. ↑ Marantz Henig, Robin. Pandora's Baby, Houghton Mifflin, 2004, p 134
  16. ↑ Prospettive nel Mondo,1 August 1978; Luciani, Opera Omnia, vol. 8, pp. 571–72.
  17. ↑ Eley, Adam (23 July 2015). "How has IVF developed since the first 'test-tube baby'?". BBC News . Retrieved 9 August 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.