Introduction - Fertility and Sterility

Forty years ago this month the first baby was born as a result of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The arrival of Louise Brown brought with her a new hope and possibility for the many men and women across the global struggling with infertility who previously had very few options for treatment or family building. In this month's Views and Reviews, we turn to the pioneers of IVF in the United States, Europe, and Australia as they share their experiences on the front lines of the development of IVF around the globe. They recount the struggles and trials that led to the first IVF birth in their part of the world and look back on how far we have come in the past forty years. Thanks to their pioneering spirit family building has become an option for men and women across the globe that had few options a mere forty years ago.