Science Questions
Who was the first test-tube baby?
Louise Brown, born on July 25, 1978, is the first baby produced from fertilization done in vitro -outside the mothers body. Patrick Steptoe was the obstetrician and Robert Edwards the biologist who designed the method for in-vitro fertilization and early embryo development.
In-vitro fertilization occurs in a glass dish, not a test tube, where eggs from the mother's ovary are combined with the father's sperm (in a salt solution). Fertilization should occur within 24 hours and when cell division begins, these fertilized eggs are placed in the mother's womb (or possibly another woman's womb).