Bourn Hall Blog and News

With information and advice about IVF, fertility treatments, tests and more – we are here for you.

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Featured Articles

Kristy and Gabby with Eden

First Christmas as a family, thank you Bourn Hall!

“We spent many Christmases saying to each other ‘maybe next year we will have another stocking to…

First Christmas as a family, thank you Bourn Hall!

“We spent many Christmases saying to each other ‘maybe next year we will have another stocking to…

Coping with Christmas: Make your own family traditions

A game plan can help you cope with family get-togethers

Coping with Christmas: Dealing with friends’ good news

Your work colleague might also have been trying for years to conceive.

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Joy continues for Bourn Hall grandmother

“IVF means everything to me,” says Angela who was an early patient at Bourn Hall….

Louise and Natalie Brown planting a tree at Bourn Hall

Story of IVF pioneers bringing Joy told through film and play

On her 46th birthday, Louise Brown, the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’, and Bourn Hall ambassador…

Jean Purdy, IVF pioneer

Jean Purdy, IVF pioneer and co-founder of Bourn Hall

Celebrating the life and work of Jean Purdy

Grace MacDonald mother of world's first IVF boy

Amazing Grace: mum of the world’s first ‘test-tube’ boy, who paved the way for IVF treatment

When Grace was told she was infertile in 1974, there was nothing that medicine could do. Determined to have a chance of a child, she signed up in secret to a pioneering research programme led by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy.

Louse Brown with Kelly and Harlan

45 years of IVF bringing ‘Joy’ to people around the world

Louise Joy Brown was born on the 25th July 1978 after her mother Lesley Brown participated in a trial of a groundbreaking new fertility technique.

Louise Brown celebrates World Embryologist Day at Bourn Hall

Happy 45th birthday Louise! Louise, ‘the world’s first test-tube baby’, met Adam Burnley, Regional Lead…

Theramex brings Spanish IVF consultants to Bourn Hall

Theramex brings Spanish IVF consultants to Bourn Hall, the birthplace of IVF

Bourn Hall is known worldwide as the birthplace of IVF treatment, so it was a…

Louise Brown remembers her mother Lesley

A message for ‘quietly determined’ women on a fertility journey

In 1978 Lesley Brown gave birth to Louise, the world’s first test-tube baby – and became the first person to celebrate Mother’s Day with an IVF baby.

Judy with baby Rebecca (feat)

Australian IVF campaigner and Bourn Hall baby turns 40

Rebecca Featherstone was one of the first IVF babies in the world; her parents had treatment at the then-brand-new Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, UK, before starting a new life in Australia. Now, as she turns 40, Rebecca and her dad reflect on the impact of IVF on their lives. 

Sarah and Esme

Milestones of IVF: 2002 – Bourn Hall introduces the first egg sharing programme

Bourn Hall’s egg sharing programme enables a couple having treatment to donate some of their eggs to another woman in return for free IVF treatment.

Matt and Laura with Elle and Louis (and Father Christmas)

Milestones in IVF: 1995 – the birth of Bourn Hall’s first baby conceived through ICSI

In December 1968 Robert Edwards, together with Barry Bavister and Patrick Steptoe, submitted a paper to Nature in which IVF in humans was described convincingly for the first time.

Julie Spence (Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire), Mike Macnamee (Bourn Hall), Gwenda Burns (Fertility Network UK), Kate Brian (Fertility Network UK), Megan and Effie

Milestones in IVF: 1990 – the first Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was passed

There was a real concern that without an act of parliament IVF and embryo research would be stopped. But after a campaign by Professor Robert Edwards and others, the Bill was passed and became The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. 

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As one of the UK’s top fertility treatment centres, our values ensure we put our patients first.

Our excellence in fertility treatment

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1978

The world's first IVF baby

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1980

Year founded by IVF pioneers

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25000

Babies born through Bourn Hall

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Clinics around the UK

We provide world-class support throughout the fertility journey.

As one of the UK’s top fertility treatment centres, our values ensure we put our patients first.

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Passion

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Adaptability

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Commitment

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Teamwork and Collaboration

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