July 25th, 1978 marked the day the very first IVF baby was born. Known as the ‘test tube baby’, Louise Brown has unintentionally paved the way for tons of families to be blessed with babies through this treatment.
When Brown’s mother, Lesley, underwent the procedure to get pregnant, it was completely experimental and still in its trial phase.
At the time, it was a huge, controversial thing to do. Other scientists were shaking their heads at the ones who were attempting this.
“There was some optimism by the scientists, but there was a lot of cynicism from many other scientists that thought this was unlikely to happen and was going to be a problem,” Alan Trounson, a team member, told ABC News.
Since her successful birth, millions of babies have been born to families who weren’t able to conceive naturally.
Brown and her family continued to keep in touch with the doctors who helped them.
“We used to send them birthday cards and they used to send us birthday cards, and whenever we could see each other we could,” Brown told ABC News.
The next step is to research IVF and stem cell science. They will continue to grow this procedure and to help create and save endless lives, all thanks to a very brave Lesley Brown who took a chance with these hopeful doctors.