April 26, 2017.
A team of researchers from the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, United States, has succeeded in making an artificial uterus capable of offering very premature babies the same comfort as in their mothers’ wombs.
A new generation incubator
In a few years, we will certainly be able to keep very premature babies alive in a more secure manner. According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, American researchers would indeed allowed fetuses of lambs to develop outside their mother’s womb for four weeks. A feat made possible thanks to a new generation incubator.
This artificial uterus allowed the development of these fetuses because it perfectly reproduces the natural physiology of a uterus. It comes in the form of a plastic bag filled with a liquid, similar to amniotic fluid, which is constantly renewed. The fetus is oxygenated by a device that allows its umbilical cord to be connected to a blood oxygenation circuit.
Reduce the risk of sequelae by 90% to 30%
Ultimately, researchers would like to be able to use this artificial uterus for premature babies. They could thus be maintained in an environment conducive to their development until their 28th week of “gestation”, which would make it possible to reduce their death rate from 90% to less than 10% and the risk of sequelae, from 90% to 30%, according to the authors of this work.
If this project has, for the moment, allure of science fiction, it could well be that the project succeeds within 3 to 5 years according to the researchers. Before any experiment on humans, they will have to deepen their research. Currently, it is not known whether this stay in an artificial uterus could have consequences on cognitive abilities. since there is no intelligence test for sheep. To be continued.
Marine Rondot
Read also: The best treatment to slow a premature birth
