At Least 8 Million IVF Babies Born in 40 Years Since Historic First
July 3, 2018
(CNN) – The world’s first in-vitro fertilization baby was born in 1978 in the UK. Since then, 8 million babies have been born worldwide as a result of IVF and other advanced fertility treatments, an international committee estimates. In-vitro fertilization involves removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries and mixing them with sperm outside the body, typically in a Petri dish; “in vitro” is Latin for “in glass.” Fertilized by this process, the eggs become embryos that can be placed in a woman’s uterus, where they can develop into a fetus and eventually a baby.