An artificial mother eventually offers a solution for premature babies

The model was designed by doctors from the Máxima Medical Center and the designers of the Next Nature network. This copy is only a symbolic drawing, exhibited in Eindhoven. Doctors hope that the artificial uterus will be discussed to determine how it is thought.

Every week counts

In the Netherlands, 1,700 babies are born prematurely. The incubator is not always the solution, babies are forced to use their small organs in the incubator. As a result, at least half of the babies born prematurely die. "Every week that a baby can stay longer in the womb, the chances of survival increase dramatically," says neonatologist Anton van Kaam against Editie NL.

Over the last fifty years, doctors have done their best to conceive of a working mother of art, but to no avail. "Last year, US pediatricians managed to keep eight premature lambs alive in an artificial uterus for two to four weeks," Van Kaam said. "It was a big step forward."

Difference Between Lamb and Baby

But there is still a big difference between a lamb and a premature baby. Van Kaam: "A lamb weighs about 2 kilos, while the babies born there weigh only 500 grams.The smaller the heart, the bigger it is to survive in the artificial womb."

The coming years will therefore be dominated by new scientific research conducted in collaboration with TU Eindhoven and a number of European hospitals. This research should lead to a first functional prototype. "Important steps have been taken, but it will certainly take decades before it is possible," said Van Kaam. Until then, the artificial mother remains a symbolic drawing.