Artificial Wombs: How They Will Literally Change Mankind Forever

Genetic Alterations/Editing

While genetic alterations or genetic editing is still pretty new to the world of medicine, it is quickly becoming a major asset to science. Within the next twenty years, it is possible that normal adults like you and I could edit our genes to remove possible illnesses. Right now, we’re able to remove things like hereditary diseases from an unborn child’s genome. Due to this being possible right now, just imagine how much more we’ll be able to do over the next few decades. By the time artificial wombs are here, editing will be far more advanced. These wombs will likely also allow us to apply editing to a child in the developmental process. For example, if we’re seeing signs of autism developing in their genome, we can remove this before it becomes an issue. However, limitations will need to be put in place to avoid abuse.

Gender Choice

While it might be considered a bit controversial… the wombs will also open up the ability to control genders. While they are creating a child the same way it occurs normally (via sperm & egg), there are more control measures. Sad to report, the way one has “relations” doesn’t determine the gender of your child. However, there are several determining factors that cause this to occur. We’ll be able to do so much by this point (including improved genetic editing), so it only makes sense to have control over gender. Have you had three boys naturally but want a girl? No problem. In fact, right now through IVF, there are methods of securing a child with the gender you want. Yet this can be quite expensive as an IVF add-on. Through AW, it will likely be included in the overall total.

The Development Of An Entirely New Field Of Medicine

It’s clear that with the development of artificial wombs, you’re going to have an entirely new area of science. These people will be separate from your standard baby doctors or OBGYNs. They will be trained entirely on how these wombs work, how to fix problems, and how to do special things a parent might want. All of this goes into an entirely different arena compared to what the other doctors do. We’ll likely see these doctors called “pre-natal or post-natal specialists” or something similar. These people will ensure there is a viable embryo is present. Then they will assist in the developmental process of the child while in the artificial womb, taking care of them the entire time. Of course, this means they will be the future parents’ main point of contact to learn about their child’s development.

Enhanced Pre-Term Protections

Just like we referenced when it comes to complications or miscarriages, there are times when babies come out well before they are supposed to. Usually, this takes place because of some sort of problem. As in, the doctors will end the pregnancy and have the woman “give birth” to a smaller child. The child will then potentially have surgery or be given treatment for something. One big issue for premature babies is that they will have underdeveloped organs and systems. Artificial wombs can be used for these babies, even though they were already birthed naturally. Not only will these wombs offer a controlled and optimal environment for growth and development, but they will also reduce or even reverse several other potential complications a child might have experienced being born prematurely.

Prolonged Gestation

This is actually sort of the opposite compared to a premature situation. There are times when a child does not properly develop even through a natural or normal pregnancy period. Some organs might not have developed or were grown properly, sometimes even at all. In fact, there have been periods where one kidney grew just fine but the other never did. All of the stuff grew the way it was supposed to for the development of said kidney, except for the kidney itself. It’s as if the kidney was cut out using Photoshop. Artificial wombs will be able to do the same thing they do for premature babies. The mother can give birth like normal, then the artificial womb takes over to offer a longer gestation period. Giving the child the ability to grow or develop organs and even address conditions that might need longer gestation.

Dramatic Reduction In Birth Defects

Currently, it is hard to prevent some birth defects from taking place. Many defects can happen from things like the mother falling, being in a car accident, taking specific medications, etc. Others, however, are impossible to predict and can happen randomly. It might simply come down to a person’s genetics or it could be a chromosomal issue too, among multiple other reasons. Through artificial wombs, this is likely to never take place. Due to the precise monitoring and control of the gestation environment, birth defects are less likely to take place. These wombs will offer an optimized fetal development territory that will likely prevent most of the common causes of birth defects. However, if random types pop up, we’ll potentially know early enough to reverse them. Many agree that early knowledge allows us to fix most issues.

The Impact Of Environmental Factors

While this might be a little controversial, artificial wombs will be able to offer us a ton of information worthy of study. Since humans will be able to use them, it is likely that we will have already proven we can do it with other species too. Due to this, we’ll be able to study animals and see how environmental factors impact the normal development of an animal. Things like pollutants, medications, toxins, and much more could impact fetal development. By removing these potential factors and only ever keeping the wombs in a controlled, sterile environment…we’re eliminating potential issues. This will be useful to see in animals first but it can then be a wonderful study to see how the wombs impact humans. Will removing environmental factors and exposure have an impact on our development? A study is needed here.

The Impact Of Hormonal Environments On Fetal Development

Studies using artificial wombs are going to be numerous. Perhaps one of the biggest that these wombs will allow us to study is the impact of different hormonal environments on fetal development. Due to the fact that we can manipulate artificial womb environments, we can study the effects of specific hormones on fetal development pretty easily. This will help us to better understand the role of hormonal balance in normal pregnancies. It’ll also help us potentially identify interventions for hormone-related conditions. The cool thing about this is that you can quite easily study hormone material without ever harming the child inside or their development.

Introduction Of The “Study Baby”

While this would be controversial, a “study baby” would be ideal for scientists. Using artificial wombs to create a child only for the use of studying them for specific scientific needs would be a huge asset. The problem is the ethics associated with such a practice. However, a “study baby” would be similar to what scientists do with mice now. Did you know we can create mice randomly, giving them conditions we want for the sake of study? The same could be done with a child through artificial wombs. Except this child would not be alive. Rather, the scientists will grow a child inside the womb that will not be alive upon its due date. It will instead be only “alive” through the womb, similar to being hooked up to machines while being brain dead. Yet this is likely not going to be accepted in every country.

Assist With Studying The Origin Of Diseases & Preventing Them

While it might seem odd to think that studies that can help adults will be conducted simply due to artificial wombs. However, that is going to be one of the most critical things we use them for. They will allow us to conduct long-term studies that could uncover the developmental origins of several adult diseases. More importantly, they might be so useful with this, we’ll be able to create interventions that can prevent them. In fact, there is a likelihood that we’ll identify critical periods during fetal development that influence our risk of developing various conditions. This knowledge will be massive for mankind, giving us ways to avoid diseases or problems in future generations. This means not only will artificial wombs be useful on their own, but they’ll assist in the study to further benefit mankind too.

Gravitational Manipulation

If artificial wombs are developed within the next 50 years or less, you can bet your house that we will bring one into space. Does this mean we will use one on the International Space Station, for instance? While possible, we will likely see them used in potential colonies on the Moon and most certainly on Mars. We have known for a while now that our height is entirely based on the gravity levels on Earth. If we grow up on another planet with lower levels, we’d potentially grow much taller. Yet going to another planet with higher gravity will slowly shrink us down the longer we’re there. We have somewhat confirmed this based on how astronauts grew in height when they come back from space missions, only to go back down to their original height on Earth. Using the wombs to confirm this could be useful.

Organ Growth – The Problems

This is the part that gets very interesting for people. Did you know in the United States right now, there are over 100,000 people on the organ donation waiting list? As usual, most on the list are looking for a new kidney. The issue with organ donations is that organs have to fit a specific blood type, and obviously, they need to be in perfect working order. However, even if you get a new organ, there is no guarantee your body won’t reject it. While one will take anti-rejection medicine for the rest of their life, the organ could still be rejected. It is unusual for rejection to happen several years down the line, but not unheard of. Even if the person giving you something like a kidney is a direct family member, something could go wrong. Artificial wombs will change all of this.

Organ Growth – The Solution

When you need a new organ in the future, artificial wombs will play a critical role. If we can make an entire child inside a womb, then that means we can isolate these machines to grow specific organs. They will not be “artificial organs” or those made from hard plastic like a 3D Printer. Rather, they will be real organs that will save potentially billions of lives in the future. First off, the womb will be using your DNA and your blood type. Thus, a very low chance of rejection. Plus, you won’t need anti-rejection medications at least after a few months. Why? We’re using your DNA, so your body will not see the new organ as a foreign invader. It will treat the new organ as it would any other. While there will be an issue for people with blood disorders like Lupus, this can be managed.

Plastic Surgery Revolution

One of the areas artificial wombs will likely become a massive asset is in the field of plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons use things like Botox to help people appear younger, but it’s actually incredibly toxic. The wombs will eliminate this stuff from being used. Instead, advancements will be made to grow skin, fat, tissue, and other things within the artificial wombs. We will be able to age the skin as well, and potentially replace older skin with younger replacement skin. This will allow a person to appear lightyears younger. Another area this will be useful for is in the realm of spying as it will allow us to make facial masks that actually look real. It’ll really fit the Mission Impossible-style mask development we all love, which is not possible currently. Therefore, this “could” become a problem that even AI would be shocked at.

Breast Augmentation – The Problems

Right now, if one wants to have breast augmentation surgery (boob job), you will know a few things. First, you’ll know that the breasts put inside your body will be made of random materials like silicon. You’ll need to be careful to avoid popping them too. However, they won’t feel exactly the same as they did before getting them altered. On a weird note, many women have reported having some mental issues when they get their breasts altered. Others report things like breast implant illness. When removing them, they noted feeling better. This means that like with an organ added into the body, your immune system might very well see the new breasts as foreign invaders that need to be taken down. However, things like breasts do not have any job to do like organs so many don’t think about this stuff.

Breast Augmentation – The S0lution

No one takes anti-rejection medications for new breasts anyway. Meaning, they could be making someone sick for years without the person ever realizing it. This is where artificial wombs will revolutionize this industry. We discussed the potential to grow organs already. However, if it can grow those, it can also grow everything that makes up the human breast. Your breasts are made of glandular & connective tissue, lobes, lobules, ducts, lymph nodes, blood vessels, and ligaments. Yet you would likely only need the tissue. Not only will this be the kind of stuff you already have, but the breasts will feel the same too. Plus, future breastfeeding won’t be an issue either. Best of all, there is no chance for the bodily rejection issue we mentioned. Plastic surgeons are already using fat transfer in this field, so the wombs will revolutionize it more.

Skin Graft Change

Yes, if we’re discussing things like breast augmentation and organ donation changes…this field is going to change too. For those unfamiliar with skin grafts, it is a type of surgical procedure. During it, specialists take healthy skin from one part of the body and transplant it to cover damaged or missing skin. Usually, in a few days, grafted skin will start to develop blood vessels and even connect to the skin around it. This field has constantly become more innovative and we can do some amazing things today in this area. However, rather than taking skin from your body to transfer it elsewhere, artificial wombs will remove that concept. You’d simply grow all the skin you’d need in the wombs, and cut recovery time down dramatically. Plus, if surgeons make mistakes, they can always grow more.

Muscle, Joint, Bone, & Ligament Growth

We truly meant it when we said artificial wombs could do a lot. Let’s say you hurt your hip and need an entire hip replacement. This can be a very difficult surgery for anyone to recover from. We tend to use things like metal-on-polyethylene and ceramic. However, what if you could grow a whole hip bone/hip joint made from the person’s DNA? You don’t have to deal with a potential rejection issue as we discussed with the other stuff. Plus, you’re putting a bone/joint back in place of a bone/joint. It is a brand-new hip that would do the job perfectly. All are made from your own DNA. The same would be possible for ligaments and muscles too. Imagine being wheelchair-bound due to a vertebrae issue. One could have spinal surgery to replace the damaged area with grown materials, allowing them to walk again.

Entire Body Part Regeneration

Let’s say someone is part of the Armed Forces. One day during a routine mission, a grenade is thrown that lands right by a soldier. He jumps but cannot get away quickly enough. He lives, but his right leg is blown off from the explosion. Artificial wombs will eventually allow us to do entire body part regeneration. This differs from simply growing something you can attach to other stuff. It is an entire leg, right? The tech will become so advanced that one will be able to go into a machine for a few days as the wombs use the person’s DNA to regrow their leg. Many believe that this type of concept is going to be possible before even the artificial womb itself. Funny enough, regeneration already occurs somewhat for humans. This will just speed up that process or do it in places where regeneration does not occur.

Exploring Societal & Ethical Implications Of Artificial Reproduction

Clearly, we’ve just referenced how artificial wombs will allow us to do several things when it comes to helping mankind. From making sure kids do not grow up with preventable diseases to doing studies that could help present-day adults. Yet there is also more to this to consider. What are the ethical and societal implications of artificial reproduction? Are we considering how parenthood will work for those who aren’t great parents? We also have to ask if artificial reproduction is something society will even accept at all. There will be discussions about the family structure, societal norms, along with legal framework. Not to mention the idea of allowing this to occur while we have an ever-growing foster system that still needs more foster parents. It’ll surely become a huge debate, especially when policies are made surrounding it.

Where Do We Find This Stuff? Here Are Our Sources:

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)

World Health Organization (WHO)

National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)

Canadian Space Agency (CSA)

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

European Union Stem Cell Research

United Nations Development Programme

American Society of Plastic Surgeons

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

United Network for Organ Sharing

Cleveland Clinic

Mayo Clinic

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Harvard University

CNY Fertility