History of IVF
At 11.47pm on 25 July 1978, the world's first IVF baby was born at Oldham and District Hospital in Greater Manchester. Her name was Louise Joy Brown and she weighed 5lb 12oz.
More than 30 years later, over 12,000 IVF babies are born in the UK each year and many thousands more worldwide.
This section sets out some of the developments that have taken place in those intervening years.
Page last updated: 18 March 2009