Artificial Womb Might One Day Help Premature Babies
Researchers have successfully created an artificial womb.
FOX’s Alex Hein has the details:
This is Housecall for Health.
Can a plastic bag save the lives of premature newborns? That’s what these researchers are banking on after creating an artificial womb that managed to keep baby sheep alive for four weeks.
The creation, called a biobag, is a plastic bag filled with fluid to mimic the inside of a uterus. Hypothetically, tubes from a baby’s umbilical cord would extend to an external device to provide oxygen to their blood.
After, the baby would be taken out of the bag and hooked up to a mechanical ventilator which would help them breathe.
The technology is targeted for infants born in the middle of the second trimester as early as 22 weeks gestation.
The technology, however, is far from being implemented in human hospitals, and it’s unclear if parents will be ready to accept it. There are also concerns about how to stick potential tubes into a human baby’s umbilical cords without causing damage.
For more on this story, check FOXNewsHealth.com.
Houscall for Health, I’m Alex Hein, FOX News.
