Louise Brown was the first baby born to parents using IVF. Lesley Brown gave birth to her in 1978. She and her husband, John, had been trying to have a child for nine years when they decided to try IVF. IVF was a new procedure at the time, and back then they called her 'the world's first test tube baby'.
Just before Christmas, Louise gave birth to a child of her own. He was conceived naturally, and the parents are thrilled. Her younger sister (the 40th ever IVF baby) was actually the first woman to ever give birth that was conceived in virto.
It is estimated that more than a million children have been born since 1978 using In vitro fertilisation, including a lot of people who are very important to me. I don't think it is very P.C. to call them 'test tube babies' these days, but I'm still happy to hear that reproductive medicine has done it right.
