科學家研發出人造子宮 可助早產兒在子宮外存活

Doctors from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have invented an artificial womb to support critically premature babies, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

根據一項發表在《自然通訊》上的研究顯示，費城兒童醫院的醫生們發明了一種可以維持重度早產兒發育的人造子宮。

In their experiment, six premature lambs were placed in artificial wombs immediately after caesarean deliveries at the equivalent of 23 weeks human gestation.

在實驗中，6只相當於人類孕期23周的早產小羊在剖腹產之後被立刻放入人造子宮。

In the biobag, the lambs were immersed in a substitute amniotic fluid containing nutrients and chemicals designed to stimulate growth.

在這種生物袋裏，這些小羊被浸入到含有養分和化學物質的替代羊水中以促進發育。

While floating inside the transparent plastic vessel - in some cases for four weeks - the lambs appeared to develop normally, transforming from bald, pink fetuses into fleecy, white newborns.

在這種透明塑料容器中漂浮的過程中，這些小羊似乎正常發育了（有些情況下只需4周），從光禿禿、粉嫩嫩的胎兒變成了毛茸茸的白色新生羊羔。

Doctors said that the pioneering approach could radically improve outcomes for human babies born so early that they cannot breathe, feed or fight infection without medical help.

醫生們稱，這種開創性的方法可以徹底改善人類早產兒不經醫療輔助就無法呼吸、進食、抵抗感染的狀況。

"If we can support growth and organ maturation for only a few weeks, we can dramatically improve outcomes for extremely premature babies," Alan Flake, a foetal surgeon at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and lead author said.

費城兒童醫院的胎兒外科醫生、該研究的首席作者艾倫·弗萊克表示：“如果我們能在胎兒發育和器官成熟方面提供幾個星期的幫助，那麼我們就能極大的改善早產兒的情況。”