DES, short for
diethylstilbestrol, is a
synthetic estrogen. DES was administered to pregnant women in the
U.S. between 1938 and 1971. It was believed to reduce the risk of
miscarriage, and was so widely accepted that doctors often pushed it on women as being "completely safe" or even "a
vitamin." In fact, children
prenatally exposed to DES show a variety of health problems. Women are at increased risk for a rare type of
cervical cancer, for
infertility, and, ironically, for
miscarriage and other birth complications. Men show an increased incidence of testicular cysts. Mothers who took DES show higher rates of
breast cancer.
Because DES was removed from the market,
obstetricians tend to think the problem is over, and DES information is disappearing from both
parenting resources and medical handbooks. In fact, there are between 5 and 10 million people who were prenatally exposed to DES, and many are still of childbearing age. Worse, because the
drug was used so freely, many may not even know they have to take precautions.
Women whose mothers took DES should be considered moderate or high-risk when
pregnant, until proven otherwise. If you think you may have been exposed to DES, please see
http://www.desaction.org for more information.