Question

What are test tube babies? Are they different from normal babies?

Answer 1

The process of fertilization where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body is termed as in-vitro fertilization. This process involves monitoring and stimulation of a person’s ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from their ovaries and letting sperm fertilize them in a culture medium inside a laboratory. After the fertilized egg or the zygote undergoes embryo culture for about $2 - 6$ days, it is then implanted in the person’s uterus.

Complete answer:
Babies conceived as the result of in-vitro fertilization are termed as test tube babies. It mainly refers to the tube-shaped containers of glass or plastic resin which are called test tubes, that are commonly used in chemistry and biology labs. Since fertilization happens outside the body, and inside a test tube or petri dish, these babies are commonly called test tube babies.
There is no actual difference between a test tube baby and a normally conceived baby. The only difference between a test tube baby and a normal baby is that test tube babies are born with the help of special fertility treatment, whereas normal babies born with the natural conception. Here, the only difference is the difference between the procedure of conception and fertilization.
In-vitro fertilization or test tube baby treatment takes almost $10$ weeks for the entire procedure to complete. In these weeks, fertility tests are taken, the egg retrieval process is done, and finally the fertilization process is done in-vitro. After about $10$ weeks, the surgeon implants the developed embryos in the ovaries or womb.

Note:
One of the major complications of in-vitro fertilization is the risk of multiple births. It is directly related to the practice of transferring multiple embryos during the process of embryo transfer. Increased risk of pregnancy loss, obstetrical complications, prematurity, and neonatal morbidity with potential for long term damage are the common risks related to multiple births.