ISLAMABAD: Scientists in Europe are developing artificial womb technology that could one day keep extremely premature babies alive outside the human body — a breakthrough that may redefine both the limits of survival and the meaning of reproduction.
The device, called AquaWomb, is being developed by researchers in the Netherlands and Germany to mimic the conditions of a natural uterus, according to The Guardian. The system is designed to assist babies born between 22 and 24 weeks of gestation, an age at which survival remains critically low despite advanced neonatal care.
A synthetic uterus
AquaWomb uses a fluid-filled glass tank, roughly the size of a household aquarium, maintained at a constant temperature of 37.6°C (99.7°F). Inside, a soft, double-layered sac allows the baby to float and develop, while a synthetic placenta delivers oxygen and nutrients through tubes attached to the umbilical cord.
“The lungs are the true liability,” said Frans van de Vosse, a cardiovascular biomechanics professor at Eindhoven University of Technology who advises the project.
“It’s like juggling ten balls — only the balls are on fire, and dropping one is not an option,” he said, describing the delicate balance needed to stabilise premature organs.
If successful, the technology could replace ventilators and incubators, which often damage fragile lungs. It could also extend the survival window for babies born months too early.
Connecting parents and infants
According to Myrthe van der Ven, AquaWomb’s co-founder and CEO, the goal is not only to sustain life but also to preserve parental bonding.
“We don’t need to be the first. We want to be the best,” she said.
Some prototypes include “access ports” allowing parents to touch their babies and a “uterus phone” that transmits parents’ voices and heartbeats through the amniotic fluid — bridging emotional gaps that traditional neonatal units often cannot.
Ethical dilemmas and medical frontiers
Yet, as technology pushes the boundaries of viability, ethicists warn of moral and emotional challenges.
“This kind of device would create a new stage of human development — something we’ve never had to describe or regulate before,” said Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, a medical law scholar at Durham University.
In 2023, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a panel to discuss approving the first human trials of artificial wombs. Early testing is expected to involve babies born before 24 weeks, for whom survival is rarely possible today.
American biotech company Vitara Biomedical, which has developed similar “biobag” systems under license from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has raised over $125 million, signalling that clinical trials could soon begin.
Redefining parenthood and reproduction
Bioethicists caution that while these systems could save countless lives, they might also reshape cultural perceptions of pregnancy, motherhood, and the body.
“Any ethical alternative to ‘natural’ pregnancy must address parents’ emotional needs alongside infants’ physiological ones,” Romanis noted.
For parents who have lost premature babies, the research represents a new kind of hope.
“All I wanted was to save him,” said Beth Schafer, whose son died at 23 weeks. “If my body couldn’t do that, maybe this womb thing could.”
Scientists say it may take several years before artificial wombs reach hospitals. But when that moment comes, the choice to use them will not only be a medical decision — it will also test humanity’s understanding of life, parenthood, and choice itself.
