Alert – James Norton joins Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie in new trailer for Netflix film JOY – based on the true story of the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’ Louise Joy Brown – News Alerts

James Norton appears alongside Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie in a new first look teaser trailer for upcoming emotive Netflix film JOY.

From the producers of An Education and Brooklyn, JOY is based on the remarkable true story of the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’ Louise Joy Brown.

Louise was was the first IVF baby born at Oldham General Hospital in 1978 and Netflix have set about telling her story and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible.

It’s told through the perspective of Jean Purdy, [Thomasin McKenzie], a young nurse and embryologist, who joined forces with scientist Robert Edwards, [James Norton], and surgeon Patrick Steptoe, [Bill Nighy] to unlock the puzzle of infertility by pioneering in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The film celebrates the power of perseverance and the wonders of science as it follows this maverick trio of visionaries who overcame tremendous odds and opposition to realise their dream, and in doing so allowed millions of people to dream with them.

James Norton, (right) joins Bill Nighy, (left) and Thomasin McKenzie, (centre) in new trailer for Netflix show JOY – based on the true story of the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’ Louise Joy Brown

The film is told through the perspective of Jean Purdy, [Thomasin McKenzie], a young nurse and embryologist, who joined forces with scientist Robert Edwards, [James Norton], and surgeon Patrick Steptoe, [Bill Nighy] to unlock the puzzle of infertility by pioneering in IVF

The birth of Louise on July 25, 1978, was reported exclusively by the Daily Mail with the headline ‘And here she is.. the Lovely Louise.’

Her mother, Lesley Brown, had been unable to conceive naturally because her Fallopian tubes were blocked.

She had been trying for a baby for nine years when she signed up for IVF.

She was among 282 women who tried the experimental procedure, with doctors attempting 457 egg collections but only 167 cycles resulting in fertilisation.

From 12 embryos successfully implanted into women, five became pregnant, and Louise was the one live birth.

Her sister, Natalie, was the 40th IVF baby and the first to have a child of her own.

Since then, another six million children have been born using fertility treatment.

The UK’s first test tube baby was photographed for only the second time beside the small glass dish in which, as a bundle of fertilised cells, she spent her first days.

Louise, who married her husband two years after meeting him in 2004, has criticised the ‘devastating’ impact on couples from the NHS rationing IVF and said she is glad fertility treatment is now more accepted.

The mother of two said: ‘Had anything been slightly wrong with me, that, I think, would have been the end of IVF.’

Asked for her advice for other couples, she added: ‘My mum just believed it would happen and it did. Just keep on persevering and if you believe it will happen, then hopefully it will.

Louise was was the first IVF baby born at Oldham General Hospital in 1978 and Netflix have set about telling her story and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible

HOW DOES IVF WORK?

In-vitro fertilisation, known as IVF, is a medical procedure in which a woman has an already-fertilised egg inserted into her womb to become pregnant.

It is used when couples are unable to conceive naturally, and a sperm and egg are removed from their bodies and combined in a laboratory before the embryo is inserted into the woman.

Once the embryo is in the womb, the pregnancy should continue as normal.

The procedure can be done using eggs and sperm from a couple or those from donors.

Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that IVF should be offered on the NHS to women under 43 who have been trying to conceive through regular unprotected sex for two years.

People can also pay for IVF privately, which costs an average of £3,348 for a single cycle, according to figures published in January 2018, and there is no guarantee of success.

The NHS says success rates for women under 35 are about 29 per cent, with the chance of a successful cycle reducing as they age.

Around eight million babies are thought to have been born due to IVF since the first ever case, British woman Louise Brown, was born in 1978.

Chances of success

The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility (if it’s known).

Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy.

IVF isn’t usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.

Between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was:

29 per cent for women under 35

23 per cent for women aged 35 to 37

15 per cent for women aged 38 to 39

9 per cent for women aged 40 to 42

3 per cent for women aged 43 to 44

2 per cent for women aged over 44