Academics who invented artificial wombs to prevent premature babies from dying; In this study, they used this device on the fetus for the first time in lambs It tells you what they tested.

Researchers of this device premature lambs that it has played an important role in their development. According to the observation they made for 1 month, the lambs showed very good development, just as expected. Here are the details of the investigation…

This artificial uterine device is actually a clear bag filled with synthetic intrauterine fluid.

There is a machine outside the bag. This is attached to the baby’s umbilical cord (attached to the lamb, as you can see in the photo) so that it plays the role of the placenta, a tissue that develops in the womb during pregnancy. So bleed nutrients and oxygen will be given. In addition, this device also expels waste gases such as carbon dioxide, in other words, it functions as a dialysis.

We can compare it to a newborn incubator. In addition, this system is completely isolated from the environmental effects a baby may be exposed to in the womb. So what do we mean by this? Example; child in the womb of a smoking mother, against the harm of smoking exposed. Whether the child of a mother who drinks alcohol or takes medication is not positively affected. Here is the artificial uterus; It provides the baby with a sterile environment that is completely free from these negative environmental factors.

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The scientists who conducted the research; he says they made this device so that the mother can do whatever she does with the baby. In other words, thanks to this device, the fetus (baby in the womb – this stage covers the period from the 3rd month of pregnancy to birth) growth and maturation can happen.

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The researchers explain that they first tried the device on the lamb: We actually observed the lamb’s normal growth phase. We saw normal development in the lamb’s lungs, brain and many visible and measurable limbs. in three or five years in premature human babies We would also like to try this device’.

For example, experts keep the lamb in a warm, dark room where they can image it with ultrasound. Then she has him listen to a mother’s heartbeat. In addition, the animal really feels as if it is in the womb. The reason they chose the lamb as a test subject in terms of human development We can say that they think it is a good example.

Basically, as you can see, the development of the baby is ensured with a completely artificial uterus close to the original uterus. In fact, researchers have already made this discovery. miracle of technology look like. At this point an important question arises. In fact, an attempt is made to keep a living being capable of dying alive because of the drug’s motto of survival, delaying death as much as possible. So how true is this? And if that’s called life…

For example, how can such a device be tested on humans? Would that really be ethical?

Many scientists draw attention to the ethical side of this issue. Dena Davis, professor of bioethics at Lehigh University, says the device will produce painful results if tested on humans. Because if the artificial uterus fails for a human fetus, it means that many people suffer for an experiment. That in itself is already a risk already.

Davis said, “Is it because a baby dies peacefully or because of this device? dying of pain better?” he asks. So the professor is concerned about testing the artificial uterus in humans.

Alan Flake, the expert at the start of the study, says ethical concerns have to be somewhat ignored to get positive results. According to him, babies can experience various disabilities if they are born prematurely. For example, about 90% of these babies who survive have cerebral palsy (cerebral palsy), mental retardation, convulsions, paralysis, blindness and deafness. diseases seems to have arisen.

So according to the expert, living like this is already a bad situation. If a normal pregnancy is about 40 weeks, this device is used for babies who are pregnant after 23 or 34 weeks. What is meant here is, your artificial uterus In fact, it is a device made to help people live healthier lives. Researchers estimate that about 30,000 babies are born earlier than 26 weeks each year in the United States. Precisely because of this relationship, Flake means that if there are so many preterms and he can help them, there’s no need to ruin the job with unnecessary worry.

Davis even adds another question to his questions: This is the death of a baby. life in a box How can parents accept him to continue his life?

In addition, the professor states that even if this technology works, the fine line between fetus and baby could disappear. So what is meant here is: we are born or die. Is the creature grown in the artificial womb a baby or a fetus? According to the expert this distinguish it gets blurry. According to him, by trying to force someone to die, to a living being It would be more accurate to say that they do nothing but transform.

In addition, this device can mimic the process of women getting pregnant. For example, even a pregnant device can be produced, meaning a natural feature unique to women is captured through medical technologies.

This allows embryos to be cultured completely outside the body. Referring to the 1997 film Gattaca (where a superior, perfect human race was produced for special missions, playing with genes), Davis even says that even such a possibility would be quite dystopian if it happened. In fact, scientists are already using stem cells. sperm, egg and embryo trying to produce assets such as: Work is also underway to produce an artificial version of the female reproductive system.

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For example, these devices can be used for evil purposes. As you say, Scott Gelfand, a bioethicist at Oklahoma State University, is concerned that some policies could use this to force women to have abortions. According to the expert’s theory, women can have abortions and then take fetuses, to artificial wombs can be placed.

Again, employers can require women to use an artificial uterus to eliminate maternity leave altogether. You know that birth has become a sector and in this area serious money it turns. For example, insurance companies can offer to switch to the artificial womb system in order not to cover the costs of childbirth. From a sociological point of view, the first field to be included in the field of medicine was already childbirth.

In traditional times the collective was done at home, women from experience In modern times, births performed by methods such as cesarean section, accompanied by specialists, have taken the place of birth.

This transition is a time when people face pain and hardship. coping motives It’s about evolving into a situation that weakens people and people who need medical care. With the medicalization of childbirth, women even started hiring birth coaches, with whom they consulted every move they made during their pregnancy.

We can also say that the pregnancy process, which previously developed jointly in everyday life, has been defeated by the rational (I am using this concept here in the sense of mechanical reason/thinking) of the modern man. So all practices related to pregnancy stages, in the expert profile began to be determined by individuals. This has meant that women don’t have to think about what would be right for them and their children.

In other words, I can say that birth, a simple natural state specific to everyday life, has officially become a capitalist market and incorporated into the health industry. According to sociologist Barbara Katz Rothman, the technological transformation of pregnancy in an artificial womb is not even a good thing. Given the above reasons, we find this idea of ​​the sociologist logical. Because the sociologist said that raising a child in an artificial womb, rejection of the human-baby bond thinks it means.

Flake and his team are only interested in keeping premature babies alive. an artificial uterus that can become pregnant He says they don’t bother to produce. They see the criticism of other researchers as an obstacle to the progress of science. Logically, the concerns of other researchers are not unfounded.

So what do you think of this? Do you think it’s right that technology goes beyond the natural features of life? You can express your opinion in the comments.

• Sources: npr, nature
• Image Sources: Elle, JSTOR Daily, Popular Science, Neo Life, Futurism, The Independent, Futurism 2, ZME Science, Works In Progress, VICE