http://blogs.prideangel.com/post/2013/07/55-million-reasons-to-be-thankful-for-IVF-treatment.aspx

The world’s first test-tube baby has paid tribute to the fertility pioneers who gave her and millions of others life as she celebrates her 35th birthday. Louise Brown was born at Oldham General Hospital on July 25, 1978, after her parents Lesley and John became the first parents to successfully undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Her birth attracted controversy, with religious leaders expressing concern over the use of artificial intervention and some raising fears that science was creating “Frankenbabies” who could experience medical difficulties later in life. There are now thought to be more than 5.5 million IVF babies worldwide and, as she prepared to celebrate her birthday with a private family meal, Mrs Brown said she hoped the public could now see the benefits of the breakthrough. “When I was born they all said it shouldn’t be done and that it was messing with God and nature but it worked and obviously it was meant to be,” she added. “It’s helped millions all around the world and if it can help improve success rates, obviously it’s a good thing. “I’ve now had my own son without IVF and lots of people I know or have heard of have gone on to have children naturally. “That shows that it is just the beginning of life that’s a little bit different, the rest is just the same.” Mrs Brown, whose younger sister Natalie was also the product of IVF, now lives near Bristol. She is married and has a six-year-old son, Cameron. She recently unveiled a plaque to honour IVF pioneers gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and reproductive biologist Robert Edwards at Bourn Hall, the clinic they founded in Cambridge and where the techniques and drugs now used worldwide were first developed. Their research led to the successful fertilisation of a human egg outside the body and the transfer of the resulting embryo to the womb. Sir Robert, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2010, died aged 87 in April this year. Steptoe died in 1988 and did not receive the prize as it is not awarded posthumously. Article: 25th July 2013 www.cambridge-news.co.uk

Mum of first IVF test-tube baby Louise Brown dies today

The mum of the first test-tube baby to be born after IVF treatment in 1978, has died after a short illness. Mrs Lesley Brown made history when she successfully conceived after treatment by Dr Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards. Her daughter Louise, now 33, was born in July 1978 in Oldham General Hospital after she and her husband John had tried to have a baby for nine years. Louise's arrival paved the way for millions of couples to have children via fertility treatment. Mrs Brown went on to have a second daughter, Natalie, after another round of IVF. She also leaves a stepdaughter, Sharon, from her husband's first marriage, and five grandchildren. Speaking on behalf of the family, Louise, who has a five-year-old son called Cameron, said: "Mum was a very quiet and private person who ended up in the world spotlight because she wanted a family so much. We are all missing her terribly." Mrs Brown had been unable to conceive naturally because her Fallopian tubes were blocked Describing her referral to Dr Steptoe, she said: "It was a very different process to what it is now. "So many people now need to go through IVF whereas, at the start, I felt like I was the only one." Tributes were also paid by bosses at the clinic, set up by Nobel Prize-winner Professor Edwards, which developed the treatment. Mike Macamee, from the Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, said: "Lesley was a devoted mum and grandmother and through her bravery and determination many millions of women have been given the chance to become mothers." A family friend described how photographers desperate for a photograph of newborn Louise had triggered a bomb scare at the hospital, leaving Mrs Brown "mortified". Martin Powell said: "Everyone had to evacuate the hospital. Lesley was so mortified, she said she felt she was to blame for people having to leave their beds." Her husband John, a former railway man, died in 2007 aged 64. Article: 21st June 2012 www.telegraph.co.uk