How are babies made? Small children are often told that a white stork is the one who brings couples a newborn baby, wrapped with a cloth bundle that it carries in its beak. Eventually, everyone learns that the baby evolves inside its mother's womb, who gives birth to it after 9 months of pregnancy. In the future, the mother's womb explanation will seem almost as crazy as the stork explanation, because most babies will be conceived in an artificial womb.
The history of childbirth innovations Over the last two centuries, there have been several important developments at the field of childbirth: in 1870, the infant incubator that helps save premature babies was invented, in 1909, the first epidural shot that helps reduce labor pains was administered, and in 1958 the sonography (ultrasound) that allows making lifesaving pregnancy observations came into the world.
Nevertheless, despite all of this progress, modern pregnant woman basically goes through the same experience as a pregnant woman from 100,000 years ago. Eventually, the pregnancy process and the birth itself haven't changed all. Well, at least not up until recently.
The Biobag
In April 2017, a group of scientists from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia unveiled the Biobag – the world's first artificial womb. This device had successfully bred eight fetal lambs that were 105 to 120 days into pregnancy - the equivalent of 22 to 24 weeks of human gestation.
The Biobag is built very similarly to a natural womb: it has a plastic bag that encloses the fetal lamb and protects it from the outside world - the same way as a uterus would; an electrolyte solution that bathes the lamb - the same way the amniotic fluid in the uterus would; and a way for the fetus to circulate its blood and exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen.
The concept of an artificial womb is not new: the science fiction book "Brave New World" from 1932 describes a futuristic world in which children are grown in artificial wombs. In 1955 an artificial womb patent was registered by Emanuel M Greenberg. Nevertheless, the Biobag in the first functioning artificial womb. This technology is estimated to be ready for human testing in 3 to 5 years.
At this stage, the artificial womb is destined to be used only for the second half of the pregnancy - the option to create an artificial womb that will be able to manage a full gestation still considered to be impossible.
One of the main obstacles on the way to a full biobag pregnancy is that science still doesn't have enough understanding of the placenta. According to Alan Guttmacher, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the placenta is "the least understood human organ". However, there is a good chance that in the future we will be able to pass this barrier as well - especially since there is a great motivation for that to happen.
Many advantages
The main goal of the artificial womb is to help premature babies (neonates born in less than 37 weeks) to finish their development under the protection of the womb. According to the World Health Organization prematurity is the leading cause of death for newborns. Beside the possibility of death, premature babies are more likely to suffer from a range of physical and mental problems that can all be prevented by a full pregnancy.
The artificial womb can also have a great impact on women health: while maternal mortality is constantly decreasing, still one out of 462 pregnant woman will die due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth. However, death is not the only childbirth related risk - a Canadian study from 2015 has shown that about 50% of new mothers suffer from urinary incontinence and more than 75% of them suffer from residual back pain. In the future, all of this can be prevented with the help of an artificial womb.
However, the most interesting effect that this technology can achieve relates to gender equality. While there are many small differences between males and females, the most significant one is the fact that females have the ability to bare children. Many believe that this is a main source of gender discrimination. Shulamith Firestone suggested in her book from 1970, The Dialectic of Sex, that an artificial womb would "free women from the tyranny of their reproductive biology.
The ethical challenges
The possibility of eliminating the need for a fertile woman in order to bring life into this world raises the question: is the essence of motherhood is only to function as a fetal host for 9 months, or is there a special maternal bond that is created between a mother and her child during the pregnancy period?
While some studies have shown that this antenatal bonding is an important predictor of the infant-mother relationship, others have shown some more complex and inconsistent findings. One thing is for shore - no one really knows the impact of growing up in an artificial womb as it has never happened before.
The development of an artificial womb may also have an interesting influence on the abortion debate: while many agree to the right to remove unwanted fetus, they don't necessarily agree to the right to terminating its life. The artificial womb will provide the option to keep the fetus alive without maintaining the pregnancy.
The 'traditional' family model of mother-father and kids, which is already starting to collapse , will probably also be greatly influenced by this new development as it will probably encourage 'non-traditional' families, like guy couples or single parents, to have children.
Finally, the option to generate a human being artificially brings up the threat that commercial entities or even governments will use the technology in order to promote their own interests. One day, this technology may even be used for the creation of a cloned army, as was suggested in science fiction movies like Star Wars.
In conclusion While many women describe their pregnancy and childbirth as amazing experiences that they would never have dreamed of giving them up, the fact is that they come with a price. In our modern society, where the boundaries between men and women are getting blurred, and the fast pace of life drives everyone crazy, the development of the artificial womb is inevitable. It will probably take time, but some day there is a good chance that we could grow fetuses in our living-rooms.