by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Pregnancy

Scientists have developed an artificial womb that, in the future, could save the lives of extremely premature babies.
So far the technology has only been tested on premature lambs, not human babies, so you won?t find it at any hospitals just yet. But given that about 30,000 babies in the United States each year are born extremely premature ? before 26 weeks or about 6 ½ months gestation ? the breakthrough is a massive ray of hope for tiny preemies of the future.
Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia created the artificial womb out of plastic. They filled it with amniotic fluid ? the protective fluid that surrounds developing babies in the womb ? and created a system that delivers oxygen and nutrients in a similar way to what occurs when the fetus is inside the mother.
The research team tested the wombs on 7 premature lambs, 5 of them born extremely premature and 3 born slightly less premature. The extremely premature lambs were at the same developmental stage as a human baby born at 23 weeks.
According to the research results published this week in the journal Nature Communications, the lambs? bodies continued to develop successfully inside the artificial womb, just as they would have done if they?d stayed inside their mothers? womb. If scientists figure out how to apply the technology to human babies, it could greatly reduce the risk of health problems, disability and death among preemies.
Study leader Alan Flake ...