This Artificial Womb Will Empower Women To Give Birth Without Sacrificing Career Or Freedom

Despite all the medical advancements we've managed to develop, pregnancy and childbirth can still be a risk process.

So many things can go wrong with the mother or the baby. That's why some scientists are doing their best to eliminate some of those issues.

mondoart.net

Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia are currently in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They're looking for permission to begin testing artificial wombs within which they can let human embryos grow. And they want to do it in the next two years.

If they succeed, their work could revolutionise childbirth as we know it, and save thousands of children a year.

"If the [fetus] were in an artificial womb, it would become possible to access it and control the environment without restricting a woman's autonomy," University of Oslo philosopher Anna Smajdor told Metro. "So in some ways there could actually be benefits for the [fetus] itself."

Basically, a woman would be able to have a child of her own, without having to go through pregnancy or even have a surrogate. Instead of carrying a growing fetus around for nine months, it could be transferred to an artificial womb that would all the conditions of a healthy uterus for the baby.

First and foremost, this could allow for women with medical conditions to have their own children without requiring a surrogate. This goes for women with cervical issues, or a condition that makes their uterus inhospitable even if her eggs are fine.

But what most women that read this are likely to realise first is that this technology could let them retain their independence even during a pregnancy.

Think about how many women are forced out of their jobs by sexist management at their workplace, when they announce their pregnancy. How many find themselves unhireable after a months-long break during term. Even how non-working women find themselves restricted in the activities they can partake in because it's not safe, or healthy and such.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Heck, this sort of artificial womb would also probably let you enjoy a couple months more of casual drinking before you have to quit while breastfeeding. There's not yet a completely supplementary replacement for that unfortunately, but at least this is a start.

The next two years, if approved, will only see clinical trials for these artificial wombs however. If everything goes as planned, it would still take another ten or so years for these devices to be fully developed. But I guess you've got to start somewhere.