Happy Anniversary, IVF: Early "Test Tube Baby" Parents

This month, July 2024, marks 46 years since the world's first IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born in the northwest of England.

Since this historic day of Brown’s birth that made international headlines, the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies estimates that at least 12 million babies have been born as a result of IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies, making “science babies” ubiquitous, albeit still too often misunderstood by the general public.

The guests on this episode, Ellen Weir Casey and Laurie Sirus, underwent in-vitro fertilization in the early days of IVF, in the early 1980s and 1990s respectively, when the general public, news, and media called babies born from this procedure "test tube babies" -- even though no test tubes were involved!

Ellen became Colorado's first IVF mom and Laurie delivered twins via IVF a decade later after grappling with the decision to pursue treatment due to the fact that it was still considered a somewhat experimental procedure, and since she knew the Catholic faith prohibited it.

This episode also features an interview with Laurie’s daughter, Abigail Sirus, who has a new appreciation for the incredible lengths her parents went to to have her and her brother now that she works in the fertility industry and since she and her partner, Stephanie, will one day explore building a family with Assisted Reproductive Technology.

Dr. Sasmira Lalwani, Senior Medical Director Reproductive Medicine and Maternal Health at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, the episode sponsor, also joins the show's midroll to discuss Ferring's commitment to driving forward positive change in ART with their research and programs like Fertility Out Loud, a platform and social media community which provides resources and tools to help you along your fertility journey. Visit fertilityoutloud.com for more information.

This episode "Happy Anniversary IVF" celebrates not only Brown's birthday, but all the birthdays made possible thanks to IVF.

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