Fallopian Tube Implant Leads to Birth of Girl

A baby was born this week at an Orange County hospital after what is believed to be the first implant of a frozen, fertilized egg in a woman’s Fallopian tubes in the United States, officials said Wednesday.

The baby, a healthy 8-pound, 3-ounce girl, was born Monday, said Dr. Lawrence B. Werlin, director of fertility services at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

The mother, a 37-year-old Mission Viejo resident who was not identified, also is doing well, added Werlin, who implanted the embryo taken from the woman’s 27-year-old sister.

Werlin initially transferred unfrozen eggs, which had been fertilized with sperm from the older woman’s husband, directly to the mother’s womb. That attempt failed to result in pregnancy. Later, using a frozen fertilized egg, Werlin placed the egg in the woman’s Fallopian tubes.

Werlin said the significance of the birth is that in vitro fertilization may now have a higher success rate. In vitro fertilization involves having a woman’s egg fertilized by a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish. In some cases, the fertilized eggs are frozen for later use.