Test Tube Babies
american experience

She was described in the press as the "Baby of the Century." When Louise Brown, the world's first successful test tube baby, was born in Great Britain on July 25, 1978, the event was heralded as the beginning of a technological revolution in human reproduction. It was also the culmination of a decade-long effort, involving scientists on both sides of the Atlantic, to help a woman conceive through in vitro fertilization, or IVF. This is the story of two doctors - New York gynecologist Landrum Shettles and British physiologist Robert Edwards - whose work became the locus of debate over the limits of science and a precursor of the current debate over cloning and stem cell research.

Duration: 56 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 1904

About American Experience:

As television's longest-running, most-watched history series, American Experience brings to life the incredible characters and epic stories that helped form this nation.


Watch American Experience - Clips, Episodes & Previews


Future Broadcast times for "American Experience": (show all)

Sun, Jul 27 10:00 P.M. The Riot Report     NH World (11.3)
Mon, Jul 28 2:00 A.M. The Riot Report     NH World (11.3)
Mon, Jul 28 10:00 A.M. The Riot Report     NH World (11.3)
Tue, Jul 29 9:00 P.M. Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History     NHPBS (11.1)
Wed, Jul 30 1:00 P.M. Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History     NH Explore (11.2)
Thu, Jul 31 4:00 A.M. Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History     NHPBS (11.1)
Thu, Jul 31 7:00 P.M. The American Vice President     NH World (11.3)
Thu, Jul 31 8:00 P.M. American Coup: Wilmington 1898     NH World (11.3)
Fri, Aug 1 12:00 A.M. The American Vice President     NH World (11.3)
Fri, Aug 1 1:00 A.M. American Coup: Wilmington 1898     NH World (11.3)
Fri, Aug 1 8:00 A.M. The American Vice President     NH World (11.3)
Fri, Aug 1 9:00 A.M. American Coup: Wilmington 1898     NH World (11.3)
Fri, Aug 1 3:00 P.M. American Coup: Wilmington 1898     NH World (11.3)
Sun, Aug 3 5:00 P.M. American Coup: Wilmington 1898     NH World (11.3)
Tue, Aug 5 9:00 P.M. Victory in the Pacific     NHPBS (11.1)
Wed, Aug 6 1:00 P.M. Victory in the Pacific     NH Explore (11.2)


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