Infertility

Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby turns 30 on the 25th July and is now a mother to her own son, Cameron, 19 months, as well as aunt to Casey, 9 years.

Society was incredulous when Lesley Brown became pregnant by a technique where her egg and her husband's sperm were fertilized outside of her body. Some called it a miracle. The Catholic church denounced it as wrong and against God's will.

It might interest you to know that the very first IVF was actually conducted on rabbits in the 1890's by Dr. Walter Heape. He successfully transferred rabbit embryo's between two different rabbits, but scientists did not begin to attempt it with people until 1959.

Gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards began to work together in 1971 to develop their ideas on assisted conception.

Several attempts were made with various infertile women, but all of these failed or ended in early miscarriage.

They then shortened the time the embryo was in 'test tube', which resulted in Lesley Brown's successful pregnancy.

The USA followed close behind when four years later, America's first test tube baby was born in December 1981, another girl, named Elizabeth Carr. Elizabeth is now 26 and a journalist.

Now, every year in the UK - IVF's pioneering country - 2,000 babies are born as a result of the technique.