Louise Brown

Louise Joy Brown was born the first test-tube baby in England on July 25, 1978. In vitro fertilization, the result of ten years of research by doctors Steptoe and Edwards generates a baby from an embryo that is fertilized outside the mother’s womb. Thanks to this technique, thousands of healthy babies are born to infertile mothers.

Louise Brown, the first test tube baby in human history, was born in Bristol, England. It was the first conception outside the human body, on a laboratory plate, designed by researchers specializing in human reproduction, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards.

It was not easy

The dream of the couple Lesley and John Brown was to have a child. However, Lesley, aged 29 at the time, had a tubal blockage that prevented her eggs from meeting her husband, John’s sperm.

Due to so many failed attempts, the couple decided to talk to embryologist Robert Edwards and gynecologist Patrick Steptoe, researchers who were developing a new fertilization method.

It wasn’t easy or quick, as several attempts to avenge the embryo were unsuccessful. However, after 50 failed attempts, in December 1977, Lesley finally got pregnant with Louise.

The arrival of the Englishwoman revolutionized the treatment of infertility, making it more accessible for countless mothers to realize their dream of having children. In vitro fertilization was a significant step taken by medicine because it made it possible for doctors to overcome hitherto insurmountable problems, such as obstruction of the fallopian tubes (in women) and low sperm count in the seminal fluid (in men).