Womb for rent?

[Space cat]

In a different post, I proposed the idea of an artificial womb and suggested that it might be possible to construct such a device in the not too distant future. The concept is simple enough: a membrane or substrate of some sort into which a placenta will attach itself as if it was the real thing. I also asked whether any women out there would be interested in renting one for nine months but didn't get any answers, so here's the question again:

Ladies, would you be interested in the idea of parking your embryo - whether fertilized the old-fashioned way or not - in an artificial womb, thereby saving you all the inconvenience of carrying it around yourself for nine months before extruding it through an opening that isn't really big enough for the job? Or would you feel that you'd somehow missed out?

Gents, what do you think?

 

[securespark]

Ridiculous.

How would the mother feel bonded to a baby nurtured in an artificial womb?

 

[hazetimesfive]

thats not to say, those who cannot carry a baby to term, would not feel attachment to their child from a synthetic womb..

bit of a moot point

 

[Space cat]

How would the mother feel bonded to a baby nurtured in an artificial womb?

I don't know. It's one of the reasons I asked the question - and why I really need some women to reply.

 

[securespark]

thats not to say, those who cannot carry a baby to term, would not feel attachment to their child from a synthetic womb..

bit of a moot point

They would, of course, but it wouldn't be the same. Messing with nature is not always a good idea.

I know some would say, "When is it ever a good idea?"

 

[Space cat]

Messing with nature is not always a good idea.

True, even though we do it all the time. Did it begin with agriculture? Or did we start even earlier when we accidentally burnt down a forest somewhere?

If past experience is anything to go by, our ability to bend nature to suit our needs has often run well ahead of our ability to do so widely. The intentions may have been good but the full consequences were not always foreseen - even though, with hindsight, they should have been.

An artificial womb would certainly be messing with nature and building one would not be as simple as my brief description might imply. A real womb provides more than a simple life support system for the growing baby. There's the mother's heartbeat for a start.

My principal reason for asking the question was not to design one but to find out what attitudes were out there. The technology will become possible so what will we, as a species, choose to do with it? The votes so far are nearly all male (no doubt reflecting DIYnot's membership) and most seem to think that women should keep on carrying their babies around as nature intended. Some female comments would be helpful.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Ridiculous.

How would the mother feel bonded to a baby nurtured in an artificial womb?

The same way a father does?? Does the emotional bond between a mother and child start before birth?

 

[Space cat]

Does the emotional bond between a mother and child start before birth?

From the baby's point of view, I would say yes. That's why I pointed out the need to simulate the mother's heartbeat. There may be other effects too. Do hormones cross the placental barrier?

The other side of the coin is that there would be no alcohol or nicotine in an artificial womb. I know somebody who smoked throughout her pregnancy so that the baby would be smaller and easier to get out.

Still only one female vote ---