"Test tube babies" is a term used by the media to refer to children conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, "test tube babies" are not developed in a test tube.
In fact, test tubes are not part of the IVF process. With IVF, the egg is fertilized in a petri dish. When the embryo is between three and five days old, it is transferred to uterus. To be clear, the embryo does not develop into a fetus in the lab.
The term "test tube baby" was first used in the 1930s, and back then it was used to refer to artificial insemination -- not IVF. The earliest reference I could find was a book published in 1934 by Panurge Press, written by Dr. Hermann Rohleder.
The book was titled: "Test Tube Babies: A History of the Artificial Impregnation of Human Beings." The book is described as "including a detailed account of its technique, together with personal experiences clinical cases, a review of the literature, and medical and legal aspects involved."
This book is talking about artificial insemination, as IVF was not yet invented when it was written.
When the first human egg was fertilized outside of the body in 1944, the term "test tube baby" started to instead be used to refer to IVF. Louise Brown, the first IVF baby, was referred to as the first test tube baby when she was born in 1978.
Sources:
Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1934). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [A] Group 1. Books. New Series.
Ruth C. Engs. (2005). The eugenics movement: an encyclopedia. Greenwood Press.
