Ex Utero Artificial Womb Support: Promising Future for Extremely Preterm Infants.

If they survive, extremely preterm infants (EPIs), born before 28 weeks' gestation, face high risks of chronic lung disease and neurodevelopmental impairment due to organ immaturity and iatrogenic injury. To prevent injury, EPIs should be treated as fetuses rather than small neonates. With the aim of doing so, artificial womb (AW), and artificial placenta (AP) technologies have been investigated for over 60 years. Recent advances have brought these technologies closer to human application, than ever before. This article outlines the rationale for AW and AP, their differences and characteristics, experimental progress, and remaining challenges for clinical translation.