Artificial Uterus, Fiction or Near Future?

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

Last week (Wednesday, 21st February) the world's most-premature baby has been allowed to leave a Miami hospital, four months after being born. Amillia Taylor was born after less than 22 weeks in her mother's womb (instead of the usual 40 weeks) was born weighing only 280 grams (10 ounces) and measured only 241 mm (9,5 inch). Just for comparison, she had approxiamtely the size of an ordinary pen, the weight of a cube of butter and her feet had the size of one hand phalanx of a grown man. Nobody believed she would survive. But yet after four months in the hospital the little girl is "healthy and thriving".

This opens an interesting issue. Scientist (at the Center for Reproductive Medicine of the Cornell University) are already able to recreate the conditions of a mother's uterus to early embryos. They grow cells in a container coated with collagen and then lay those cells out in a woman's uterus and put embryos in it. They are able to cultivate these embryos for over a week.
On the other hand doctors are able to save premature babies that couldn't survive a few years back. The gap between the two is getting narrower every day.

A further narrowing of this gap could be brought in a near future by Japanese scientists of the Juntendo University in Toky. Since the beginning of the 90s they test a device for the securing of body functions of goatling foetuses, which should simulate an artificial placenta. The foetus is placed in a fluid evoking amniotic fluid, the arteries and veins of the umbilical cord of the foetus are connected to tubes that transport nutrient-enriched blood. They haven't been yet successful, because the goatlings move a lot (which necessary in order for their body functions to work after birth) and keep dragging up the tubes.

But one is for sure, scientist work on the creation of an artificial uterus, which would enable to "create life". Nobody knows how long it will take to achieve this "goal", but one is sure, it's not impossible.



EDIT: For those who are interested, here's a picture of the little baby when it was born:

[Aggie]

Bottle of mine, it's you I've always wanted!
Bottle of mine, why was I ever decanted?
Skies are blue inside of you
The weather's always fine;
For
There ain't no Bottle in all the world
Like that dear little Bottle of mine.

 

Then again, Kiyo...  you know what they say about men - 9 months trying to get out, the rest of their lives trying to get back in.  Are you sure you weren't a bottle-baby? 

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

Are you sure you weren't a bottle-baby? 

I wasn't a bottle-baby.

My love for the bottle came much later (approximately at the age of 16).

[Griffin NoName]

I have the feeling that we are on a collision course. The point in time where Science can do one of the several Life related miracles that are in the pipeline, will be the point in time that one of the several world destroying projected events occurs. It keeps me sane.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

An artificial uterus could be the final freedom towards granting women the same rights as men.

That is, men are able to start a child, and go "elsewhere" or continue in their careers-- whatever. They do not have to put on hold, because their bodies are held "hostage" by a developing baby.

This development could allow women the same freedom-- to have an actual child of their own, but not have the need to be "ultra careful" during the pregnancy.

(I know, we have that now, with surrogate mothers, but that is a poor compromise, and fraught with all sorts of problems-- not the least for the surrogate.)

There have been numerous SciFi stories about societies that had this tech, and just a few of the consequences.  Some good, some bad, some indifferent.

As for me-- were I a woman, I think I might opt for just such a contrivance. Once it's perfected, of course.  Eliminate completely the risk to the mother, of live birth. 

On the flip side, this thing could ALSO allow single fathers to have children, as well as homosexual male couples.

Like spreading cracks on the surface of the ice, the ramifications are enormous.

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

One problem I would have with the whole thing would be the fact that the child builds up a connection to its mother in the womb; it feels her heartbeat, her breath etc.

This would be missing when the child would be "created" in an artificial uterus.

Possibly the child born wouldn't have the same feelings a "normal" person would have, with the natural connection to its "parents" missing.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

My feelings too. Human contact (or even live contact, with pets) is extremely important to children, even linked to violence when is missing (kids looking for physical contact of any kind). I even have the feeling that there is something more than simple infrared radiation emanating from the other body.

[Griffin NoName]

If you hold your hand a foot or so away from someone's body - head or back is easiest - and move it very very slowly towards their body, you can feel where someone's what_I_call_energy_boundary is. Whatever it is - it's tangible and I have to push slightly to get past it, and that's what I consider invading someone else's space (which doesn't imply invasion as good or bad in itself).

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

One problem I would have with the whole thing would be the fact that the child builds up a connection to its mother in the womb; it feels her heartbeat, her breath etc.

This would be missing when the child would be "created" in an artificial uterus.

Possibly the child born wouldn't have the same feelings a "normal" person would have, with the natural connection to its "parents" missing.

Easy enough to simulate, actually.  You can even have a muffled speaker, piping in the mother's actual words, using a wireless listening device worn by the mother.  In fact, you can have this device "listen" to her heartbeat, blood-flow and so on.

And it does not need to be the mother alone-- the father can contribute as well or in place of, at need.

As for the "energy" there has never been substantial evidence for this "field".  But, it may be something to consider.

However, I would imagine that any parent excited about his/her new impending child, would visit the incubator as much as possible-- touching the housing and talking to the developing baby would likely be commonplace.  Likely this would easily substitute for what happens in a natural womb.  I simply can't imagine anyone that wouldn't want to have a part of the process.

So far, all the objections presented have been addressed.  Anyone else think of something else?

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

Now imagine the mess it could make together with the cloning process in the wrong hands...

I can already see an army of universal soldiers without feeling marching the earth.

Not a nice thought.

[Swatopluk]

I think something Brave New World like would be more likely.

One problem I see is that it would give some (mostly religious) nuts the argument that women are not needed anymore. St.Augustine e.g. dreamed of a time when chidren could be conceived without sexual intercourse. It also was a common belief in the church that a woman's sole function was bearing children because otherwise G#D would have created another man instead of Eve.
In some parts of the world (e.g. India) it is already common to have a selective abortion of female foetuses.

Back to the real world, I don't think it will ever be cheap enough to be anything but a luxury.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Now imagine the mess it could make together with the cloning process in the wrong hands...

I can already see an army of universal soldiers without feeling marching the earth.

Not a nice thought.

Why does it automatically have to be "without feeling"?

The starting product is HUMAN.  The end-results will be too.

Humans ALWAYS have the capability for emotions, even if these are taught to be suppressed.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I think something Brave New World like would be more likely.

One problem I see is that it would give some (mostly religious) nuts the argument that women are not needed anymore. St.Augustine e.g. dreamed of a time when chidren could be conceived without sexual intercourse. It also was a common belief in the church that a woman's sole function was bearing children because otherwise G#D would have created another man instead of Eve.
In some parts of the world (e.g. India) it is already common to have a selective abortion of female foetuses.

Back to the real world, I don't think it will ever be cheap enough to be anything but a luxury.

There was a science fiction story based on that idea-- I forget the author/title, though.

The world consisted entirely of men, very religious types.  Procreation was done in a "center" with artificial wombs.  There was non-sexual pair-bonding, to assist in raising the offspring. The fertilized zygotes were carefully screened, to make sure no female ones were ever brought to term (ironic, that!)

The reason the story happened, was because their reproduction tech had failed beyond the point they were able to repair (they purchased it from someone else than they). 

Now I remember the author:  Lois McMaster Bujold http://www.dendarii.com/.  The story is part of the novel, Ethan of Athos.

[Swatopluk]

The other way around (only females allowed but still asexual) was the basis of the Polish film Sexmisja.

[Kiyoodle the Gambrinous]

And where's the fun in a world without women?

It's true that dealing with women could be tough sometimes ( just kidding of course), but I can't imagine the world without them.

Spooky idea...