When babies are born extremely prematurely – before 24 weeks of development in the womb – their lungs aren't strong enough to provide their organs with the oxygen needed to develop properly. Nor are they strong enough to handle artificial ventilation. The result can mean a brief life for these tiniest of babies. A new artificial placenta that mimics conditions in the womb being developed by researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) might provide new hope.

The university has just reported that such an external placenta has kept five extremely premature lambs alive for a week. Although clinical trials are yet to be scheduled for humans, the researchers are hopeful that the technology might one day become a viable way to keep the earliest born babies alive until they can develop on their own.

"We thought, 'Why don't we solve the problem of prematurity by re-creating the intrauterine environment?'" says principal investigator George Mychaliska, the director of UM Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center. "Maybe we should treat this tiny baby like a fetus. Maybe we should treat these babies as if they are still in the womb. This is a complete paradigm shift. Our research is still in a very preliminary stage, but we've passed a significant milestone that gives us promise of revolutionizing the treatment of prematurity."