Artificial Womb could save premature babies

Premature babies could have a better chance of survival – and be healthier long-term – all thanks to this new technology, and it’s all right here on this week’s tech byte.

Doctors are developing an artificial womb that tries to replicate the conditions inside the mother’s body.

This could save the lives of very premature babies.

The technology, known as AquaWomb, is still in its early stages.

But it’s been made to support infants born between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, a period when survival is possible, but complications are common.

The device is essentially a sealed bag filled with heated artificial amniotic fluid.

Inside, the baby is connected to an artificial placenta that supplies oxygen and nutrients.

The key is to deliver the child via caesarean section, allowing the baby to be moved directly into a bag filled with artificial amniotic fluid.

Dr Willem de Boode, pediatrician-neonatologist at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, underscores how delicate this transfer is.

“For the delivery, it’s really important that you prevent the triggering of spontaneous breathing. So you should prevent that the baby takes a breath and gets the lungs filled with air because then already the injurious effects are starting. So that will mean that you need a transfer device from the womb into the perinatal life support, (so) that the baby doesn’t start breathing air but is in artificial amniotic fluid.”

The stakes are high: the earlier the birth, the greater the risk of long-term complications or death.

Just four additional weeks of development can dramatically improve survival and reduce the likelihood of chronic health problems.