Forty years ago, on July 25, 1978, the world celebrated the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown.
Sir Robert Edwards and Dr. Patrick Steptoe were the pioneers of this world event, which took place in a petri dish, not a test tube, in England. Since Louise’s mom had blocked fallopian tubes, Dr. Steptoe used a laparoscope to collect her egg. Her husband’s sperm cells were added to the petri dish, and voila! A successful fertilization took place, and the embryo was placed inside her womb. This medical miracle inspired hope for many infertile couples. Since then, more than 5 million children around the world have been born through in vitro fertilization, more commonly known as IVF. In 2010, Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the development of in vitro fertilization.”
[See: The Real Sperm Killers.]
In 1981, American husband-and-wife team Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones used fertility medications to induce ovulation in a Massachusetts mom, and after 41 failed IVF attempts, they achieved success. My fellowship mentor worked alongside the Jones for the development of IVF, and he shared the stories of 24-hour urine collections to check for the signs of ovulation. The egg retrievals had to be performed before ovulation, often between the ungodly hours of 1 and 3 a.m. Today, the principle of ovarian stimulation has remained the same, though thankfully we can now control the timing of the entire ovulation process from when fertility occurs to the time we retrieve the eggs by ultrasound.
Exciting advances continued two years later with the birth of the first baby after frozen embryo transfer. In a frozen embryo transfer, the frozen embryos from a previous IVF cycle can be thawed and implanted into the patient’s uterus. This process saves both time and money. Frozen embryos don’t have an expiration date and can be used after an unsuccessful IVF attempt, or if you decide to have another child. Freezing your eggs is also a major proactive step if you’re not ready for pregnancy now but are considering motherhood in the future.
Refinement of the freezing techniques helped achieve the ultimate goal of “One Healthy Baby at a Time” and prevent the complications related to multiples, since the rest of the embryos can be frozen for a future transfer. Freezing also prevents ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, increases pregnancy rates and results in babies born with a healthier weight. And most importantly, studies of animals and humans indicate children born from frozen embryo cycles do not have any greater chance of birth defects than children born after fresh embryo transfers. In fact, in many centers including our clinic, the success rates for a frozen embryo is typically higher than fresh transfers since we have the opportunity to optimize the lining of the uterus and complete genetic testing.
[See: Why Can’t I Get Pregnant?]
It’s amazing how far we’ve come, with advances in genetics and technology paving the way for women to enjoy the magic of being a mom and for us, as fertility specialists, to increase the chances of women having a healthy baby. The original research technique, pioneered by Dr. Alan Handyside, only allowed the sex chromosomes to be identified and help avoid the transfer of the affected male embryos. Today, with preimplantation genetic testing expanded carrier screening and hereditary cancer screening, carriers can make informed reproductive decisions and couples who want to minimize their risk can pursue IVF-PGT. Recently, we had a case where both parents were cystic fibrosis carriers and the dad was a BRCA1 carrier. From the same biopsy, we could not only identify whether the embryo is affected by cystic fibrosis and a carrier of BRCA1 but also if the embryo has an extra copy of a chromosome such as Down syndrome.
As reproductive endocrinologists, our job is to not only find every method possible to help infertile individuals and couples conceive, but also provide hope. In our office, we’ve installed the LifeAire System, which increases the success rates for IVF and has shown an increase in ongoing pregnancy rates. Generators ensure our frozen embryos are protected in case of a power outage. But there are humans behind every one of our office innovations and a 24-hour emotional support system to back it up. In fact, even though our office has generators, we stayed in town during Hurricane Irma to be physically able to check the tanks and preserve those precious eggs and embryos.
[See: Diet and Lifestyle Advice for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.]
With celebrities like Mariah Carey having a baby at 41 thanks to donor eggs, and others — like Jimmy Fallon and Neil Patrick Harris — becoming parents through a surrogate, the opportunity to be a parent has been extended to more women as well as to the gay community. Our hope now is for insurance companies to expand coverage for fertility treatments and IVF, making this miracle procedure not only scientifically possible but financially accessible, as well.
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We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby: The History of IVF originally appeared on usnews.com
