‘The men who made the breakthrough’: How the British press represented Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards in 1978

Abstract

This article examines how the British press represented Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards in the story of the birth of the first ‘test-tube baby’, Louise Brown. In 1978, the British press represented the birth of Louise Brown as both a success and a source of hope. The main pairs of protagonists in this story were Steptoe and Edwards and Lesley and John Brown, who metonymically represented British science and infertile couples, respectively. In the dominant ‘success’ narrative of the birth of Louise Brown as depicted in the British press in 1978, Edwards and Steptoe seemed to embody ‘British’ values of industriousness, perseverance, altruism, ingenuity and teamwork. Thus, their success was simultaneously a British success. With Louise Brown’s birth, in-vitro fertilization came to stand for the potential happiness of infertile people and a bright future for British science and industry.

A Japanese man with spina bifida who successfully fathered a child following fertility treatment

“…Methods of conception can be classified into four types as follows: natural pregnancy, assisted insemination with the husband’s semen, IVF, and ICSI. IVF and embryo transfer have developed as ART treatments since the conception of the first child via ART in 1978 . Generally, IVF and ICSI are recommended for cases of insufficient ejaculated sperm volume (Fig.…”

‘Now She’s Just an Ordinary Baby’: The Birth of IVF in the British Press

“…As the country was being pulled in many different directions, the news media united around the birth of blonde, blue-eyed Louise Brown. As well as being the happy ending for one ordinary working-class couple, this was a world-first scientific breakthrough at a time when the country was in the economic and political doldrums (see Dow, 2017 ). Rather than opening a Pandora’s box of unintended consequences, in 1978 IVF was represented as a way of helping married heterosexual couples have ‘ordinary’ families.…”

“… 3. As I discuss in another article ( Dow, 2017 ), Edwards, the research scientist, and Steptoe, the consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, are typically referred to as the ‘pioneers’ of IVF in media and academic accounts. Edwards’ research assistant, Jean Purdy, who died young in 1985, is usually overlooked, though many of the clinicians and researchers associated with Steptoe and Edwards describe her as indispensable both in terms of her clinical expertise and the support she provided to Edwards and Steptoe ( Johnson and Elder, 2015 ).…”

Does culture condition of reduced oxygen pressure helps in embryo quality? A prospective randomized study

“…This event also attested to the safety and scientific breakthrough of their efforts. 1 The health aspects and cost factor in an IVF-ET program has been researched and improved upon by various reproductive medicine teams. With personalized stimulation protocol incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSSS) has been reduced.…”