A Fluid-Filled Artificial Womb May Help Premature Babies, Say Experts

The World Health Organisation describes preterm babies as the ones born prior to the expiration of 37 weeks after the last menstrual cycle of the mother. According to a recent estimate, close to 15 million babies are preterm every year and every 1 in 10 babies is a born before term. These babies may face a host of health issues right after their birth and need especial care to ensure their survival and proper development. Preterm birth complications account for nearly 1 million deaths every year and remains as the leading cause of mortality in children under 5.

Experts from the United States have been successful in testing a support mechanism on lambs that facilitated growth and survival in them. Scientists first developed a womb-like bag known as extra-uterine support device and tested its efficacy on preterm lamb. These lamb were physiologically similar a human baby born under the gestation period of 23-24 weeks. It was found that the lambs were able to survive and develop in this sterile, temperature controlled environment. This prompted the team to create a prototype that could fit human preterm babies.

This could be a huge step in the path of providing better chances of growth and survival in preterm babies. The fluid-filled support mechanism is the outcome of three years of research and innovation that first started with a series of four prototypes - beginning with a glass incubator tank and progressing to the current apparatus. Experts created amniotic fluid in their lab made it flow in and out of the bag."These infants have an urgent need for a bridge between the mother's womb and the outside world," Alan Flake, Specialist Surgeon, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

In pre-clinical trials with lambs, experts were able to mimic the environment similar to the womb along with the functions of the placenta. This facilitated normal development of lungs and other organs in the lamb. Experts believe that the same model can be held true in the case of human babies. In most cases, preterm babies have vulnerable organs, not strong enough to withstand or cope with the atmosphere outside the womb. The device mimics the womb-like environment and provides the possibility of suspending the baby in it for another few weeks to bring them over the 28-week threshold.

"This system is potentially far superior to what hospitals can currently do for a 23-week-old baby born at the cusp of viability," Flake concluded.

Though it could take another decade for the device to take a shape of reality, experts hope to procure licence for the device that could be used to support highly premature babies. The team envisions developing a system that would be a radical departure from keeping preterm babies in artificially ventilated incubators.

Inputs from Reuters