Frozen Embryo Baby Making Good Progress

SANTA BARBARA — The first baby in the United States to begin life as a frozen embryo was doing extremely well Friday and should be going home with his mother in a couple of days, hospital officials said.

“Both parents are absolutely thrilled,” said Cottage Hospital spokeswoman Janet O’Neill. “I’ve seen the mother a couple of times today, and both times the father was holding the baby and he wouldn’t let go of it.

“They’re both very proud and, of course, we’re thrilled that it happened here.”

The 3-day-old boy is spending most of his time in his mother’s room, not the nursery, a nursing supervisor said. The parents have requested anonymity.

“Mother and child are doing extremely well,” O’Neill said. “They should be going home in a couple of days.”

‘Chubby,’ ‘Pretty Cute’

She described the baby as “chubby” and “pretty cute,” with some brown hair and eyes “that look greenish.”

The 9-pound, 8-ounce boy was born at Cottage Hospital last Wednesday, becoming the first baby in the United States to be born by way of the frozen embryo method, which involves freezing the embryo after in vitro fertilization, then placing it in the mother’s womb. The pioneering procedure was accomplished at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles.

The parents--who want to keep the baby’s name a secret--are described only as a physician named Gary and his 36-year-old wife, Monique. The couple tried to conceive for 15 years before being accepted in 1984 as candidates for the in vitro fertilization program.