That Baby Again

More on the test-tube birth

After the birth of the world's first test-tube baby in Britain last July 25, little Louise Brown's scientific godfathers, Gynecologist Patrick Steptoe and Physiologist Robert Edwards, were sharply criticized by some American colleagues for failing to reveal all the details of their pioneering work. Last week Steptoe put the critics to rest. At a meeting in San Francisco of the American Fertility Society, the British researcher delivered an hour-long lecture on the birth of Baby Brown and other hitherto unpublicized facets of the British pair's research. The talk had a dramatic effect. Rising to their feet, the 1,200 doctors and biomedical specialists gave Steptoe a rousing ovation. Said Society President Dr. S. Jan Behrman: "We now know what he did. No one can say that he fudged it."

In his presentation, Steptoe revealed that he and Edwards had made 32 attempts between November 1977 and August 1978 to implant embryos conceived in a laboratory dish into a mother's womb. Four pregnancies resulted from these implants, but only two led to the birth of healthy children--Louise Brown and, on Jan. 14 in Scotland, Alastair Montgomery. Both were premature, Steptoe said, but now are "flourishing, normal babies."

The other two pregnancies were ended by spontaneous abortions. One occurred as late as the 20th week of pregnancy, apparently as a result of an accidental rupture of the membranes surrounding the infant. The baby boy was normal but not yet mature enough to live outside the womb. He died two hours later. The other abortion took place at eleven weeks because of a fatal chromosomal, or genetic, abnormality in the fetus.

Steptoe believes the premature births of the two living children and the loss of the other two babies are not related to the method of conception. He notes that the mothers were under tremendous stress and that the chromosomal imbalance occurs in naturally conceived pregnancies as well. Hence, while he acknowledges that test-tube fertilization needs further refining, he says that "the method is no longer experimental. It is ready for clinical application."

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U.S. doctors have thus far been stalled in undertaking similar research under what amounts to a five-year-old federal moratorium on such experiments with human eggs and sperm. But soon the researchers may be allowed to get back to work. An ethics advisory board appointed by HEW Secretary Joseph Califano has tentatively agreed that the ban should be lifted and proposed guidelines for the work. The board will take a formal vote on its recommendations next month. -

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