Test Tube Babies Suffer in the Aftermath
Many of you may have heard the term “test-tube baby” used before but been unsure what exactly was meant by it. Over two decades ago scientists and doctors conceived a way to help couples experiencing difficulties with becoming pregnant. They called it assisted reproductive technology (ART), the most common type being in vitro fertilization (IVF). ART refers to many different treatments that aid in the fertilization of a woman’s egg by a sperm cell ranging from fertility drugs to IVF (more commonly known as a “test-tube baby”). IVF occurs in a laboratory setting when a woman’s egg is placed in a Petri dish with male sperm cells, once one sperm cell fertilizes the egg, doctors wait about five days to ensure fertilization and proper development and then implant the embryo into the uterus.
Procedures such as the one described above were once thought to be the answer to couples’ fertility problems. Doctors ensured patients that children who were conceived in this manner would not suffer from any immediate or long-term side effects. At the time research supported their claims.
Recently new research has surfaced that indicates the contrary. Temple geneticist Carmen Sapienza was reported to have said at a recent conference:
“Children conceived through ART are more prone to low birth weights, birth defects and genetic abnormalities, contrary to previous studies showing little or no differences between lab-made babies and those conceived the old-fashioned way.”
What are some of the potential causes for these defects that scientists are looking into?
Dyer, Nicole. “For Test-Tube Babies, Synthetic Environment Could Cause Lasting Genetic Damage | Popular Science.” Popular Science | New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. <http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/test-tube-babies-synthetic-environment-could-cause-lasting-genetic-damage>.
Beyond the Walls in Biology 
Nisa Cabbell said,
February 24, 2010 at 2:35 am
This article is to make people who consider seeking help making a baby aware of all the things that can go wrong during and after this process. Its main focus is on the immediate or long-term effects on the child. The article states that babies conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely to be obiest, have type 2 diabetes, have birth defects, or genetic abnormalities that can be passed on to future generations.
This article caught my attention because it seemed more interesting and more about everyday life. I personally don’t know anybody who has had a procedure to get a test tube baby or has even considered it, but I have seen on television a lot of woman today getting this done. If they knew all the things that could go wrong, would they still want to continue through with this? I know this would make me think twice about it. Would a woman really want to bring a child into this world with the chance of having a disability? That would make the parents and the child suffer or have a hard time throughout life. Some effects may be temporary but some may also be long-term. Would you want to take a chance or would you want to take the easiest way out and find another way to have a baby?
I would like to find out if these defects would happen based on the sperm and the egg contributed, the carriers body, or just through the process itself. I would also like to know a little more about what abnormalities may occur after the child is born or while the child is growing in the womb.
adaohauzoho said,
February 28, 2010 at 10:59 am
After reading the article, I felt obliged to do some further research due to the fact that I’ve personally been affected by this. My cousin Michael, nine years of age, was a test tube baby. Through the process of my research I discovered that test tube babies are also called In Vitro babies and it means “in glass”. A sperm and egg are taken from two separate donors or from the mother and father. Now, there is a protective shell that is on and around the surface of the egg cell. When the shell is removed, the sperm cell is allowed to fertilize the egg. After fertilization happens, the zygote, a cell formed by the combination of two gametes, is allowed to grow for a while in a kind of solution. This whole concoction is placed in a test tube, therefore getting the name of “test tube baby”. After the zygote has reached a certain stage, it is implanted into the mother. It is said that this is the most risky part of the process because the cells have to bond to the uterus wall. After they have bonded, the process is officially complete. From there are the normal stages, in which the mother has to carry the baby for nine months.
No doubt, infertility between couples may cause tension, this is why people are so desperate as to go through this process; but with such a process that is said to be one of the best and fastest, there are bound to be problems. As I read in the article, Louise Joy Brown was the world’s first successful test-tube baby but later discoveries were made on her behalf. “… Altered chromosomes created heritable changes in the ability of nearby genes associated with obesity, type-2 diabetes and rare genetic disorders to regulate themselves. The big scary point here is that environmental stress in the womb is creating genetic changes that can be passed on to future generations” (Dyer, 2010). Did you know that babies conceived in the normal way have a two and a half percent chance of having birth defects, but for those who are the produced through of In Vitro Fertilization has a three and a half percent. The warnings to most people will make no difference. Most people come to In Vitro Fertilization in desperation like I mentioned earlier. After that, next come tests, scans and possibly surgery which are all very distressing, contributing to the worsening of IVF for future generations.
Kurtis Joseph said,
February 28, 2010 at 2:53 pm
It is amazing how they could fertilize an egg outside the womb of the mother. Doing this in my eyes could be a good thing, but also a bad thing a test tube baby is not always healthy. The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, came out fine and nothing wrong is wrong with her to this day. She went through a process called assisted reproductive technology or ART, it helps in the process of making a baby. It aids in the fertilization of a woman’s egg by a sperm cell, ranging from fertility drugs to IVF, more commonly known as a test tube baby.
IVF is done in a laboratory it is when a woman’s egg and a male’s sperm is placed in a Petri dish together. When a sperm cell fertilizes the egg doctors then wait 5 days too ensure fertilization and proper development and then implant the embryo into the uterus. So basically there placing the fertilized egg in the mother’s womb.
Temple geneticist Carmen Sapienza told press members that children conceived through ART are more prone to low birth weights, birth defects and genetic abnormalities. She is saying that test tube babies have least problems with genetic problems such as abnormalities it could be maybe mental retardation even many others things could be effects from being a test tube baby.
edward said,
February 28, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I find it interesting that they can fertilize a egg in a petri dish and insert it into a woman’s uterus. If there are so many babies born with low weights and birth defects, why do they contiue to do it? I understand if two people are unable to have babies because of reprodutive problems, but that should be the only reason why they do it. I wonder if in the futre they will even need a male and a female to fertilize each other, will be able to grow a baby with out it being inside a uterus? The science behind what they’re doing is very interesting and I would like to look into it and see how exactly how they do it. What if the embryo isn’t fertile enough to be placed inside of the woman?
michael whitehurst per.10 said,
March 1, 2010 at 5:45 pm
I am happy to say I finally know what a test tube baby is because my first thought was that it was a joke to make fun of small kids. Now I see why they call it that and I see the side effects now that I think about it. Now I see how it happens and works, these babies shouldn’t be made like that because it rather unfair, it’s more science then just making it natural. A baby should be fertiliezd inside the mother where the father left it, not taking it out an putting it into round dish. Just think of the things the kid goes through with such defects in life. Also the parent should think about what the baby wants because who says the baby wants to be real small I just believe its to much science involved than rather being natural.