according to research presented at a conference of fertility experts.
Delegates hailed it as a"remarkable milestone" forfertility treatments.
The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in the UK in July
1978. Her mother Leslie Brown died last month.
However, delegates at the conference in Turkey warned couples not to
use fertility treatment as an"insurance policy" if they delayed
parenthood.
The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive
Technologies (Icmart) presented its latest data onchildren born to
infertile parents at the European Society of Human Reproduction and
Embryology conference.
It said official figures up to 2008, plus three years of estimates,
put the total number of test tube babiesborn at five million.
Milestone
Icmart chairman Dr David Adamson said: "This technology has been
highlysuccessful in treating infertile patients. Millions of families
with children have been created, therebyreducing the burden of
infertility.
IVF success rates (based on figures for 2008)
33.1% for women under 35
27.2% for women aged 35-37
19.3% for women aged 38-39
12.5% for women aged 40-42
BBC Health: IVF in depth
"The technology has improved greatly over the years to increase
pregnancy rates."
About 1.5 million cycles of IVF, and similar techniques, are performed
every year, resulting in 350,000 babies, Icmart said.
Stuart Lavery, a consultant gynaecologist and director of IVF at
Hammersmith Hospital, said: "IVF is now part of the mainstream, it is
no longer something couples are ashamed of."
However, he cautioned that the great success of assisted reproduction
techniques should not lull people into thinking they could wait to
have children.
"The subtext is that if people delay childbirth they may view IVF as
an insurance policy that they can access at any stage.
"Unfortunately the facts still suggest that IVF success rates in women
as they get older are not fantastic."
Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at theUniversity of
Sheffield, said:"I think it's significant that we've got to five
million. It's far more socially acceptable than it has beenover the
last 10 or 20 years.
"One word of warning, we should make sure that couples understand that
IVF isn't a guaranteed solution and if they're in a position to have
their children earlier in life then they should try and do that.
"IVF really is something that should be preserved for those people who
reallyneed it."
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