7 Oct, 2010
Oh, Grow Up!
Where Is World's First 'Test Tube' Baby Now?
Photo Courtesy AP / Story Excerpt Courtesy of AOL.com By the time she was born, she was already famous, and she's been trying to live that down ever since. On July 25, 1978, weighing in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces, Louise Joy Brown entered the world on videotape, her birth recorded for posterity because she had just become the world's first "test tube" baby. Her parents, Lesley and John, had been struggling to have a child for nine years when they turned in desperation to a little-known procedure called in vitro fertilization.Reporters from around the world descended on Oldham General Hospital in Greater Manchester, England, trying to catch a glimpse of the first baby conceived outside the womb. So intense was the media and scientific debate surrounding her birth that doctors filmed the Caesarean section that delivered Louise to prove that her mother's fallopian tubes were, in fact, not present. In July 2008, British physiologist Robert Edwards, left (in the picture above), attends the 30th anniversary of the world's first "test tube" fertilization baby, Louise Joy Brown, right, shown holding her son, Cameron. Next to her is her mother, Lesley Brown. Edwards, who developed test tube fertilization, has received the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine.
Brown is now 32, with a child of her own -- 3-year-old Cameron, conceived the old-fashioned way and delivered the same. She has tried to live quietly, working as a postal clerk and then for a shipping company, but she is constantly revisited by reporters who've noted everything from her birthdays, to giving birth, to today's announcement that scientist Robert G. Edwards had received the Nobel Prize for helping develop the laboratory process that gave her life.
"It's fantastic news. Me and mum are so glad that one of the pioneers of IVF has been given the recognition he deserves," Brown said today in a statement released by her and her mother. "We hold Bob in great affection and are delighted to send our personal congratulations to him and his family at this time."
Being the first such child has been a mixed blessing, Brown has said over the years. At times during her childhood, she felt "completely alone," the BBC reported in a 2003 profile. "I thought it was something peculiar to me. I thought I was abnormal." At age 4, her parents showed her the video of her birth, in which a squawling, tiny Louise is pulled from her mother's stomach and held before a camera that captured her being weighed, cleaned and swaddled in a blanket.
"I think it was just in case children at school knew, because children can be quite cruel. I think it was to say I was the same as everybody else, but just a little bit different, she told Britain's Daily Mail in 2008. She grew accustomed to questions from schoolmates such as "how did you fit into a test tube?" She patiently explained that she was not born in a laboratory.
What does God's Story scripture teach us today about infants?
Ever seen a hungry baby? They don’t stop eating until they’re full. Just try and take away their bottle while they’re still drinking – you’ll get an earful! When we first come to know Jesus as our Best Friend, we are usually excited and can’t wait to spend time with him so we can grow in our spiritual walk. Eventually, however, we find ourselves falling into bad habits, or maybe even sinning (being hateful, jealous, or having malicious behavior). We must stay focus and feed on the Lord’s Word to continue to grow.
How can I connect today's God's Story scripture to My Life?
My daughter Emily is about to turn 6. In fact, today is the last day she’ll be 5. And she’s already looking forward to turning 7! I can’t believe she’s growing up so fast. As cute and sweet as she was as an infant, I am glad she’s not still a baby. I don’t have to buy diapers, worry about lost pacifiers, get up in the middle of the night to feed her or carry her around. She runs (faster than me sometimes!), ties her own shoes, knows how to count over 100 (by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s), and is reading by herself very proficiently. And it’s because she has continued to crave the food that makes her strong and healthy.
Want to hear of something that is even more of a blessing for me? I was able to pray with Emily when she asked Jesus into her heart. She is sincere in her prayers. We do devotions together every night and she has total faith in the Lord. My prayer for her, as she turns 6, is that she’ll be closer to the Lord this year than she was this past. Just as I want her to grow physically, I don’t want her to be a spiritual baby, either.
How can I connect Today's Story, My Story, and God's Story to Others?
Share with an unsaved friend how God has helped you grow spiritually. You’re not perfect (me, neither!), but you can let them know where God is stretching and using you more now than when you first came to know him. By showing them that you are still working on your relationship, they will see that you are real and honest.
Ask a trusted friend to pray with you in areas you need to grow and offer to do the same for them. Confess your weaknesses to God and your prayer partner. Keep a prayer journal so you can see how God is answering your requests and helping you grow in your spiritual journey.
The next time you see a baby, pray for those who are new in their faith. Remember: you don’t want to be an infant in Christ when you can continue to grow spiritually in Him.
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