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What Would You Do?
What would you do if you found out that a drug that had been given to your mother while pregnant with you could prevent you from having children? Diethylstilbestrol (or Di-ethyl-Stilbestrol) or DES is the first synthetic man made female sex hormone (oestrogen) prescribed for public use mainly between 1938 and 1971 (but not limited to those years). Used primarily to prevent miscarriage and complications in pregnancy, in North America, Europe, and Australia for more than 40 years. Aggressive marketing pushed DES (spelled diethylstilboestrol in the UK) to also be used for more than 100 additional medical conditions. Never patented, DES was marketed using hundreds of brand names in the mistaken belief it prevented miscarriages and premature deliveries.
Used primarily to prevent miscarriage and complications in pregnancy, Diethylstilbestrol was a common medication administered by doctors for over 40 years!
Stopped But Never Banned?
In November 1971 the FDA told doctors to stop prescribing DES for their pregnant patients, however it was never banned. Specifically, the FDA said DES was contraindicated for pregnancy use. In some rare cases American doctors either didn’t hear of, or simply ignored the message and continued prescribing DES. Internationally, DES use during pregnancy continued for many subsequent years. In September 2000 the FDA withdraws approval of DES for use in humans. (It is still successfully used by veterinarians to treat incontinence in dogs).
What would you do if you found out that a drug that had been given to your mother while pregnant with you could prevent you from having children?
Multi-generational Exposure
In the United States, an estimated 5–10 million people were exposed to DES, including women who were prescribed DES while pregnant, and the children born of those pregnancies. The exposure to DES can not only affect the health of the mother but of the children of a DES Mother. Be that as it may, DES Mothers are women prescribed DES while pregnant and DES Daughters are women whose mothers were given DES while pregnant with them. While there are many women and children whose health has suffered because of DES, this scandal is still one of the biggest in history that not many people are even aware of.
The Interview
Tune in to this segment of The Organic View Radio Show, as host, June Stoyer is joined by a DES Daughter, to learn about her journey at 12pmEST/9amPST on August 15, 2012. Click here to listen to the interview. Stay tuned!
Please connect with Domino:
Diethylstilbestrol, Journal of a DES Daughter
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Twitter – @des_journal
Donate to DES Action USA here!
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to tell my DES story and share with your audience some of the issues associated with taking prescription drugs during pregnancy. Diethylstilbestrol is a world drug disaster yet very few people know about it so thank you very much for helping get the word out and spread awareness about this important issue. If there is one thing to remember from this interview, it would be that DES is more than a drug, it’s a failure of the medical profession, health authorities and drug companies to face up to a problem and take action. Stay safe and think twice before taking any prescription drugs especially if you’re pregnant.
Terrific interview! I am a DES Daughter who was not able to get pregnant because of my exposure before birth to this drug. Doctors dismiss DES as ‘not a problem anymore’ when actually we keep learning of new health concerns. For example, DES Daughters over age 40 are at increased risk for breast cancer so they should be vigilant in screening for it. Doesn’t it stand to reason that a developing fetus that was awash in unnaturally high levels of a synthetic estrogen would have lifelong health issues? Those of us who were exposed need to stay informed because we can’t count on our doctors to do it for us. Thank you for spreading awareness of the DES tragedy!
Very informative interview! Thank you! I hope many people hear this and talk to others about DES. I found out I was a DES daughter just BY CHANCE in the early 1970s. It is a disgraceful thing that it is still the case that DES exposed people find out about the harm caused by DES purely by chance. It defies common sense where governments don’t have ongoing concerted public promotion of DES information for the sake of the VITAL special preventive health care associated with DES exposure. It’s a “no-brainer” for sure.