Meet Louise, the world's first test tube arrival

Louise Brown was the first baby to be born after being conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The media response described the process as making 'test tube babies', and the Pope aired concerns that women would be forced to become baby factories. However, initial fears about this procedure were quickly eased, and when Louise's sister was born – just four years later – she was the 40th child resulting from this method of conception. Today, these kinds of reproductive technologies are widely accepted; in 2009, 12 714 babies were born in the UK through IVF.