Making Babies in the 21st Century

Explore how assisted reproduction is impacting baby-making in the 21st century

Following the journey of someone making use of technology to conceive, this course will take you through six different areas of assisted reproduction, as well as the science behind them and its impact.

As you explore human reproduction in the age of technology, you’ll explore the social, ethical, and legal challenges of powerful new genetic techniques creating new opportunities in the field of reproduction.

Learning with experts at UCL’s Institute for Women’s Health, you’ll explore how technology is changing the way babies are made and family life is constructed, appreciate the key ethical dilemmas that these new technologies bring, and gain awareness of the social aspects of the relevant ethical challenges.

This course is designed for anyone interested in learning more about reproductive technology, including medical and healthcare students, clinicians and nurses working in women’s health, scientists and biotechnologists involved in reproductive technology and medicine, and couples and individuals seeking advice and information about assisted reproduction.

Healthcare professionals might find the Certificate of Achievement for this course useful for providing evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), or commitment to their career.

• Seeking fertility
• Welcome to the course
• Welcome to Week 1
• Seeking fertility online
• Ethical considerations
• Legal and regulatory implications
• Views and perspectives
• Your views and summary of the week
• Freezing eggs
• Welcome to Week 2
• Why I chose to freeze my eggs
• A visit to a fertility clinic
• Potential concerns around egg freezing
• Ethical implications
• Views and perspectives
• Your views and summary of the week
• Using gametes
• Welcome to Week 3
• Lyn's story
• Donor conception and anonymity
• Ethical controversies
• Legal and regulatory implications
• Views and perspectives
• Your views and summary of the week
• Crossing borders
• Welcome to Week 4
• Papiha's story
• Exploring international surrogacy
• Ethical considerations
• Legal implications
• Views and perspectives
• Your views and summary of the week
• Genetic testing
• Welcome to Week 5
• Louise's story
• Genetic testing of embryos
• Genetic testing in early pregnancy
• Ethical considerations
• Legal and regulatory implications
• Views and perspectives
• Your views and summary of the week
• Genome editing
• Welcome to Week 6
• Rachael's story
• Editing the human genome
• Ethical implications
• Legal and regulatory considerations
• Views and perspectives
• Your views and summary of the week
• Course summary