Louise Brown, whose birth as the world's first test-tube baby in 1978 was a worldwide sensation, has given birth to her first child conceived naturally.

Cameron John Mullinder was born on December 20 in the western English city of Bristol, news reports said.

"He's tiny, just under 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms), but he's perfect," the Mail on Sunday newspaper quoted her as saying.

The 28-year-old mother married Wesley Mullinder, 37, three years ago.

In 1999 Louise's sister Natalie became the first test-tube baby to give birth.

Louise Brown's birth on July 25 1978, following conception by a ground-breaking IVF procedure, was a first success for Dr Robert Edwards and the late Dr Patrick Steptoe.

At an event marking her 25th birthday three years ago, she said she hoped to have children, without needing IVF.

"When I was younger I used to want three or four, but now I don't know," she said.

Despite the excitement over her birth, she said her life had been unremarkable. "I just get on with my life," she said. "Just normal I just plod along."

Likewise, the birth of a child conceived by IVF long ago ceased to be newsworthy.

Britain recorded the birth of 10,242 such children in the year ending March 31 2004, according to the latest data available from the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority.

The probability of an infertile couple taking home a baby after a cycle of IVF today is 1 in 5, about the same that healthy couples have of conceiving naturally.