"Korea's First Test-Tube Baby Girl Gives Birth to a Healthy Baby Naturally After 34 Years"

On October 12, 1985, at 5:10 AM, Jang Yoon-seok, head of obstetrics and gynecology, is presenting the test-tube baby in the delivery room of Seoul National University Hospital. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A girl born through the country's first in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1985 has grown up and recently gave birth to a healthy baby through natural delivery.

On the 23rd, Professor Koo Seung-yeop's obstetrics and gynecology team at Seoul National University Hospital announced that Ms. A, a girl born 5 minutes earlier among IVF twins delivered by cesarean section in 1985, successfully gave birth naturally in February 2019, 34 years later.

Ms. A began menstruation at age 13 and maintained a regular menstrual cycle, growing up healthily without other illnesses.

During periodic prenatal checkups at Seoul National University Hospital after becoming pregnant, no abnormal findings were detected, and at 39 weeks and 2 days of pregnancy, she experienced labor pains at 5-minute intervals in the delivery room and gave birth naturally to a 3.165 kg baby girl.

The research team explained that this case can demonstrate to the public that the generation born through IVF also has healthy reproductive ability.

The parents of the twin siblings, Ms. A and her brother, had been married for 4 years in 1985. The mother had undergone left ovary and fallopian tube removal surgery due to an ectopic pregnancy two years earlier, and her right fallopian tube was blocked.

In October 1984, the mother visited an IVF clinic and underwent infertility tests until January 1985. She was diagnosed as only able to conceive through IVF procedures.

At that time, the team led by Dr. Jang Yoon-seok, former head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Seoul National University Hospital, induced ovulation, performed advanced embryo culture and fertilization, and implanted the embryo into the uterus, resulting in the mother's successful pregnancy on February 25, 1985.

Afterward, the mother lived healthily like other mothers and gave birth to the country's first IVF baby by cesarean section. This was recorded as the fourth case in Asia, following Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan.

The research team stated, "The first generation of children born through IVF are now adults of reproductive age," and added, "IVF is no longer an inaccessible, special, or complicated procedure but has become a common procedure for infertile couples."

Meanwhile, this case was reported in the latest issue of the English edition of the Journal of the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Obstetrics & Gynecology Science).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.