The IVM babies: Twins are first in Britain to be born using new, 'safer' fertility technique

The boy and girl twins were created using IVM - In-Vitro Maturation - which involves removing eggs from the mother's ovaries and maturing them in the laboratory.

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They are then fertilised with the father's sperm before being put back in the womb.

The process avoids the use, in conventional IVF, of high doses of fertility drugs to mature the eggs within the body.

Approval for the technique was given to the private Oxford Fertility Unit only in January.

The twins were delivered one minute apart last Thursday.

The boy, born first, weighed 6lbs 11ozs, while his sister weighed in at 5lbs 14ozs. Both are doing well.

Their parents are insisting on complete privacy and do not wish to release the children's names, only their pictures.

Doctors have hailed IVM as less risky and 'better than nature' at getting some women pregnant.

Worldwide, about 1,000 pregnancies have been achieved using IVM and more than 400 babies born.

Two million children have been born through traditional IVF techniques.

Conventional IVF uses injections of high levels of ovarystimulating drugs to mature them faster for collection.

But there are well-recognised dangers to the mother if the ovaries are over- stimulated.

The risks are serious for women with polycystic ovaries, a leading cause of infertility.

These women can spend a week or more in hospital and some have died from the condition.

At the Oxford unit, 20 patients have undergone IVM and five have become pregnant.

Tim Child, its consultant gynaecologist, said: "The main advantage of IVM over IVF is improved safety for women.

"After years of research and development into IVM, and after many months of working with the twins' parents, it has been hugely exciting to see them born."

According to its Danish pioneers, the technique suits around 12 per cent of women under the age of 37 and seeking fertility treatment.

Dr Allan Pacey, of the British Fertility Society, which represents IVF clinics, said the technique was in its early stages and more research was needed.

"I think we've got to be careful that we're not replacing one set of risks with another," he warned.

• In-Vitro maturation was developed in the late 1990s by doctors in Denmark. Eggs are extracted from a woman's ovaries using a needle probe guided by ultrasound. The eggs are then allowed to mature in a Petri dish for 24 to 48 hours. Those that have successfully matured after this time are then fertilised by injecting sperm directly into them. Two or three days after fertilisation, the developing embryos are transferred to the mother's womb. Any spare mature eggs can be frozen for future use. IVM is viewed as very patient-friendly. It costs an estimated £1,700 less than conventional IVF.