Artificial Uterus and the End of Childbirth? with Alexandra Whittington

Scientists believe babies could be nurtured in external - artificial - wombs in the future. If so, what might the implications be? For some people, the very thought may conjure ideas of Frankenstein’s monster. For others, it could represent an opportunity to save more extreme pre-term babies in a significantly safer environment than that afforded by conventional incubators, when babies’ organs are not developed well enough to survive. Premature birth, before 37 weeks, is globally the biggest cause of death among newborns. The technology could also provide a safe way for couples to have children where other interventions are not possible. It might even allow mother’s to keep working throughout their pregnancy experiencing physical symptoms.

Does all this seem far-fetched? To date, experiments have been conducted on rodents and sheep with human trials anticipated in 10 years.

The big questions about these technologies revolve around the social and ethical implications, and I am delighted to welcome back to the podcast leading female futurist and member of Tata Consulting Services Future of Business team Alexandra Whittington to discuss these issues.

You can learn more about Alex and her work by connecting with her as follows:

Email [email protected]

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/alexandra-whittington-futurist

Twitter twitter.com/alexandra4casts

This episode of the podcast was inspired by these BBC reports about the development of artificial wombs:

What if women never had to give birth again?

BBC News / World TV: Artificial wombs 

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/embryo-life-evolution-space-source-7036773