Out of the Tube

Do you know who Louise Brown is?

In case you don’t know, Brown is the world’s first “test-tube” baby. She was conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) 29 years ago.

So why did she make the news again despite the fact that IVF conceptions are not that unusual anymore? Well, Brown has recently gave birth to her first child. Her son was conceived naturally.

IVF is already a usual option for couples who have problem conceiving a child naturally. As of 2004, Britain recorded 10,242 births through this artificial procedure. I’m not sure if there are readily available data of this nature for the U.S. I’m sure there are. This country has a knack of keeping everything in file.

I’m planning to peek though the birth records of some test-tube babies that I know (in paper). I’m just curious on the information that are written therein, although I’m quite sure that I won’t find anything unusual.