In the entirety of human existence, there's not many more transformative experiences than bringing a
child into the world. Humanity can build cities and machines or even travel outside of the planet itself, but creating life from little more than the tools than you inherited at birth is so powerful, so life-changing, the literal existence of our species depends on it.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before we used science to enhance one of the most inherently human things we can ever do. With the help of modern medicine, we were able to stop
mothers dying in childbirth and even create
babies in laboratory test tubes, and this latest innovation may just change the world once more.
Meet Vincent. At first glance, he seems like your average baby; sitting quite snug in a polo shirt, with a thin sheen of hair on his head and a gleeful, slightly confused look on his face. But the story of his birth, pushed into life the persistence of his parents, is something to behold: Vincent is actually the very first baby of his kind.
To understand why, let's go back to his parents; Malin Stenberg and her partner Claes Nilsson, who both hail from Sweden. They were madly in love and wanted to start a family together, but there was just one problem. Malin, who was 37 years old at the time, was unable to have a child. Malin was born with a rare genetic condition known as Rokitansky syndrome, which means she was born without a uterus, and as such was not able to have a baby. Those who live with Rokitansky syndrome often don't have two-thirds of their reproductive system, but still possess working ovaries.
Malin and Claes were on the verge of giving up hope, but then, they learned of an experimental procedure being conducted at the University of Gotheburg, designed specifically to help those with Rokitansky syndrome. There were only nine places on the study, but Malin and Claes were lucky enough to get in.
Now came the hard part. Doctors wanted to see whether not a donor uterus could be implanted in Malin, and hopefully help her conceive. Previous attempts, however, had been unsuccessful; although the women survived, their attempts to get pregnant to term and give birth were all in vain.
Luckily, Malin and Claes had the help of a friend in starting their very own family. 61-year-old Ewa Rosen heard about their plight, and selflessly decided to donate her uterus to the cause. Just 43 days later, Malin had her period for the very first time, and one year later, she became pregnant with Vincent!
After a successful term, Malin delivered Vincent via a C-section, and history was made. Not only is Vincent the only baby to be born to a mother with Rokitansky syndrome, he's the first baby to be born via a donor uterus. After Vincent was born, Malin had the uterus removed so she wouldn't need to be on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of her life.
Well there you have it! This handsome boy is clearly very special to his mum and dad, but now you know that he's a special baby for the world of science as well.
