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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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test-tube babies
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The term in everyday use for babies resulting from IVF, standing for in-vitro fertilization – in vitro is Latin for 'in glass'. The process involves removing eggs from the mother's ovaries, fertilizing them with the father's sperm and allowing them to grow in an artificial environment (the test tube) until one or more can be implanted in the mother's womb; thereafter the pregnancy follows the normal course. The technique was developed in the 1970s by Patrick Steptoe (1913–88) and Robert Edwards (b. 1925). The world's first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, was born under their care in 1978 in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
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In 1980 they established a centre for this treatment at Bourn Hall, 16km/10m west of Cambridge, and here they achieved the next development – the freezing of unused embryos, so that the mother can return if the first pregnancy fails or if she wants a second child. The first such 'deep freeze' baby was born in 1984; her sister from the same batch of eggs followed in 1986, making Elizabeth and Amy Wright the first examples of what the press called 'time warp twins'.
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