In 1988, a group of reporters held cameras at the door outside the maternity ward of Peking University Third Hospital.
Baby girl, seven pounds and two taels, was born at 8:56 on March 10! ”
In the bustling crowd, I learned that this baby was not an "ordinary person", it turned out that she was China's first "test tube baby", and she came to this world after "nine hundred and eighty-one difficulties".
However, some people are not optimistic about this child, and even questioned the life expectancy of up to 40 years, and now more than 30 years have passed, what happened to this child?
Do everything you can to have a child.
Zheng Guizhen and Zuo Changlin are ordinary rural teachers and farmers, living in a small village in Gansu, their lives are very hard, but there is one thing in their hearts that is more bitter than life, that is, they have been married for more than 20 years and have no children.
Seeing that the children of their age are all going to school, they are anxious every day and have been longing to have a child of their own, but they have not been able to do so for years.
Soon after marriage, she went to the hospital for an examination, and it was found that Zheng Guizhen had "bilateral fallopian tube blockage", and Zheng Guizhen began to seek various methods, including praying to God and Buddha, taking various home remedies, etc., but none of these methods could help her realize her desire to get pregnant.
Until one day, she heard on the radio that a hospital in Beijing was conducting IVF research, which rekindled her hope, and Zheng Guizhen and her husband decided to go to Beijing to seek professional help.
One morning in 1987, with a hint of tension and anticipation in the cold wind of Beijing, Zheng Guizhen and her husband finally found a glimmer of hope after a long period of pain and exploration.
They are about to undergo an emerging technology called IVF, which is led by Dr. Teo Lai Chu and aims to help them achieve their dream of years of life.
IVF is an advanced reproductive technique that helps infertility patients achieve pregnancy by removing sperm and eggs from the body, fertilizing them in a laboratory setting, and then transferring the resulting embryos back into the mother's uterus.
This technique is suitable for a variety of causes of infertility, including blocked fallopian tubes, sperm quality issues, and more.
Dr. Zhang Lizhu is an outstanding medical doctor who holds a medical degree from St. John's University in Shanghai and has studied in the United States and the United Kingdom.
"IVF is a method of achieving pregnancy through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, and it can help women like Zheng Guizhen who are unable to conceive naturally due to blocked fallopian tubes to achieve their fertility wishes," Professor Zhang told them. ”
Prior to this, Zheng Guizhen's family had gone through a long period of preparation, including physical examination and psychological construction, and they knew that this step was difficult, but they were also looking forward to the arrival of a new life with confidence.
With her professional attitude and dedication, Dr. Teo Lai Chu provided them with meticulous guidance and support, which made the couple feel unprecedented warmth and comfort.
During the process of receiving IVF**, Zheng Guizhen went through many hardships and challenges, and she needed to undergo constant drug stimulation and egg retrieval surgery, which were painful and long for her.
Led by Dr. Teo, her team has performed IVF on 12 couples, but the success rate has been zero, and although the 12th couple seemed to be successful, unfortunately failed to deliver due to an accidental miscarriage after pregnancy.
Faced with such a success rate, Zheng Guizhen is inevitably worried, and her husband Zuo Changlin is even more hesitant, he believes that he should wait for the technology to be more mature before trying.
However, Zheng Guizhen was unwilling to wait any longer, she was over forty years old and could not bear the long wait.
After some careful consideration, Zuo Changlin finally compromised and decided to support his wife's attempt at in vitro fertilization, so they started in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Beijing North Third Hospital.
The 12 failures made the couple feel bottomless.
After a thorough examination, it was found that Zheng Guizhen had bilateral fallopian tube blockage and severe pelvic inflammatory disease, which was the sequelae of tuberculosis when she was young.
Due to the severity of the disease and the prolonged absence of proper treatment**, reversal surgery is no longer feasible. In this case, in vitro fertilization became their only option, and Dr. Zhang Lizhu formulated a detailed diagnosis and treatment plan for Zheng Guizhen's specific situation.
Although Zuo Changlin still had concerns, Zheng Guizhen resolutely signed the consent form for the operation, and she firmly believed that even if she failed, it would not be worse than now.
During the IVF process, Dr. Zhang Lizhu successfully retrieved the eggs from Zheng Guizhen and completed the fertilization in the laboratory.
On June 24, 1987, she underwent an embryo transfer operation, and a few hours later, the operation was successfully completed, and Zheng Guizhen was moved to tears, knowing that a new life was being conceived in her belly.
In the past ten months of pregnancy, Zheng Guizhen was treated at the level of "giant panda" in their team, and under everyone's care, she ushered in the day of childbirth.
On the day of the operation, Zheng Guizhen and his wife waited nervously and expectantly outside the door of the operating room, and he watched his wife enter the operating room, intertwined with nervousness and blessings in his heart.
At the same time, the news ** also paid great attention to this incident, and sent reporters to wait in front of the delivery room, hoping to capture the moment of the birth of a new life as soon as possible.
After a series of complicated surgical procedures, a crisp cry broke the silence, and Zheng Guizhen and his wife finally welcomed their daughter, Zheng Mengzhu.
At that moment, all the anxiety and fear turned into tears of joy, and they hugged each other tightly and shed gratitude to Zero.
Zheng Mengzhu's birth has attracted wide attention from all walks of life, and her parents' expectations for her can be seen from her name - "Meng" represents a new life, and "Zhu" is a tribute to Dr. Zhang Lizhu.
Although Dr. Zhang Lizhu is worried about the future growth path of her child, she also reminds that as long as she takes care of her, she will definitely be able to grow up healthily.
The unhealthy side of the child still appeared.
Jung Meng-joo's birth has caused widespread social discussion, with many people expressing concerns about her health and even rumors that she may not be able to live long or have children.
These rumors and misunderstandings cast a shadow over Zheng Mengzhu's childhood, but she gradually grew up with the love and support of her family.
After entering puberty, Zheng Mengzhu began to face more psychological pressure, and in order to reduce her burden, her parents decided to minimize her contact with the outside world so that she could focus on her studies and life.
This decision allowed Zheng Mengzhu to gradually get rid of the troubles of the past, and she began to face life more positively and become an optimistic and cheerful girl.
Over time, Zheng Mengzhu successfully completed her junior high school studies and was admitted to a well-known high school, where she met many like-minded friends and spent a joyful campus life together.
However, rumors about her past and identity have not completely disappeared, and occasionally people still mention her special status, and in 2006, Zheng Mengzhu was successfully admitted to the English Department of the School of Foreign Chinese Languages of Xijing University, which was a new starting point in her life.
On the university campus, she strives to fit in with the group, taking classes with her classmates, going to the library, participating in various activities, and enjoying the happy time of ordinary students.
The inheritance of love. As time passed, Zheng Mengzhu gradually grew up, and her growth process was full of love and care from her family, whether it was study or life, she performed very well, which made people who were originally worried about her gradually change their opinions.
Zheng Mengzhu's growth not only proves the safety and effectiveness of IVF technology, but also brings confidence and hope to families who are also facing fertility problems.
After graduation, Zheng Mengzhu chose Beipiao to experience the ups and downs of urban life, but she always maintained her original intention and was determined to return to Beijing Third Hospital to help more families with her own experience.
During the years of working in the North Third Hospital, Zheng Mengzhu met true love and entered the palace of marriage, and when she was pregnant, she decided to return to the North Third Hospital to give birth, which was a tribute to the starting point of her life.
In 2019, Zheng Mengzhu successfully gave birth to a healthy baby boy in the North Third Hospital, and this news once again aroused the attention of **, because it means that China's IVF technology is quite mature.
Zheng Mengzhu hugged her child and deeply experienced the hardships and happiness of her mother, and at the same time, Zheng Guizhen also came to the North Third Hospital, excitedly hugged her grandson, and sighed that time had flown by.
Today's Zheng Mengzhu, not only working in the North Third Hospital, is also actively helping more families with fertility disorders, she used her personal experience to tell them that IVF can also grow healthily, which has brought them great hope.
The author thinks. Finally, let us once again pay tribute to the researchers, doctors and all the participants behind the generations of IVF.
It is precisely because of their continuous efforts, selfless dedication and courage that every life can be born and thrive, bringing more color and beauty to this world.
Information**: Xinhua News Agency New** - The first test-tube baby birth in Chinese mainland.
Xinhua News Agency's new ** - 31 years later, the first case of IVF in mainland China became a mother!
China News Network - From IVF to Motherhood Witness the "thriving" of China's assisted reproductive technology