Doctors in the U.K. said recently that the first baby tested for the breast cancer gene BRCA1 before it was implanted in the womb has been born.

According to a news release, the baby girl was born after a round of in vitro fertilization, which usually creates several embryos. In this case, the embryos were tested for BRCA1, and only those without it were placed inside the mother, who had a family history of breast or ovarian cancer.

The doctors called the process preimplantation genetic diagnosis. They said PGD "has the added advantage of avoiding the potential dilemma and physical and emotional trauma of undergoing a termination of an affected pregnancy."

"This little girl will not face the specter of developing this genetic form of breast cancer or ovarian cancer in her adult life. The parents will have been spared the risk of inflicting this disease on their daughter. The lasting legacy is the eradication of the transmission of this form of cancer that has blighted these families for generations," said researcher Paul Serhal.

Women who carry the variation of BRCA1 have an 80 percent chance of developing breast cancer and a 60 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer, according to the news release.