What Is a “Test Tube Baby?” "Test tube baby" is a term sometimes used by the media to refer to children conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Despite the name, "test tube babies" are not developed in a test tube. Test tubes are not part of the modern IVF process at all. With IVF, the egg is fertilized in a petri dish. (Not a test tube.) When the embryo is between three and five days old, it is transferred to the uterus. To be clear, the embryo does not develop into a fetus in the lab. That idea belongs to the realms of science fiction. The embryo transferred is a collection of living and developing cells—not what anyone would think of as a “fetus.” The term test tube baby was first used in the 1930s. Then, it was used to refer to artificial insemination—not IVF. Artificial insemination is when specially washed semen is directly transferred into a woman’s uterus via the cervix. It is an in vivo fertilization — in the body — and not in vitro, in the lab, like IVF. An early reference to the phrase “test tube baby” is found in a book published in 1934 by Panurge Press, written by Dr. Hermann Rohleder. The book, entitled Test Tube Babies: A History of the Artificial Impregnation of Human Beings, is described as, "including a detailed account of its technique, together with personal experiences clinical cases, a review of the literature, and medical and legal aspects involved." This book is about artificial insemination, not IVF. IVF had not yet been invented.2� When the first human egg was fertilized outside of the body in 1944, the term test tube baby began to refer to IVF babies. Louise Joy Brown, the world’s first IVF baby, is still frequently referred to as the world’s “first test tube” baby. (More on her below.) Most in the fertility world consider the term "test tube baby" offensive and inappropriate because of the negative, sci-fi imagery it conjures up. #storkivfcyprus #love #couple #cute #adorable #kiss #kisses #hugs #romance #forever #girlfriend #boyfriend #gf #bf #bff #together #photooftheday #happy #me #girl #boy #beautiful #instagood #instalove #loveher #lovehim #pretty #fun #smile #xoxo https://www.instagram.com/p/CVKPBhdsIZf/?utm_medium=tumblr