A staggering 6m babies have been conceived through In-Vitro Fertilisation since 1978.
The
European Society Of Human Reproduction And Embryology announced in 2012 that IVF babies numbered a milestone 5m - but that number has gradually crept up in the five years since then.
The treatment is becoming increasingly common too, as birth rates fall, rates of infertility rise, and women have their babies later in life; indeed,
The Spectator recently reported that in the UK, IVF babies will shortly account for 10 percent of all births.
Chairperson of the
International Committee For Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies Dr David Adamson has stated in the past that "millions of families with children have been created, thereby reducing the burden of infertility.
“The technology has improved greatly over the years to increase pregnancy rates.
"The babies are as healthy as those from other infertile patients who conceive spontaneously. The technology is available globally in many different countries. IVF is firmly established now in the mainstream of medicine,” he said.
The birth of the world’s first IVF baby Louise Brown in the UK caused huge controversy in 1978 and ethical debates about the procedure were widespread.
