I took Des during 4 pregnancies . One daughter developed a clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vaginal wall and my other daughter had anomalies of the reproductive system including a T- shaped uterus and could not conceive . She also had 6 invitro fertilizations without success . Obviously this drug was not tested enough by the drug companies to be safe . Today the New England Journal of Medicine published a paper on the risks for DES progeny . My other child was a boy and has GU problems . I lost my first child in utero . The child who developed cancer was exposed to 75mgs of Des daily from the beginning . What horror awaits us .

Just when we thought DES horrors were over we fear new ones as published by the New England Journal of Medicine today . Yours also brings the same fears to light . I have 3 Children . One developed clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vaginal wall , Another daughter had anomalies of the reproductive system ( T-shaped uterus ) and unable to conceive . 6 unsuccessful invitros . A son who has GU problems . Lost first child in utero . Is there an end to this ? Why didn't the FDA require the proper testing of this drug before use .

Drugs used for pregnancy/birth are almost never tested before use. It isn't until after they've been used on the public they find the problems then subsequently pull the product. Of course by then the damage has been done. Who knows what pitocin(induction drug), and epidurals do and what lasting effects they have.

I worked with a woman in a hospital in Ohio back in the late 80's. She got married and then she and her husband decided to have children. Three times, an astounding THREE times, she suffered pre-term labor which resulted in three deliveries between 4 and 5 months in her pregnancies, which obviously ended in stillbirths. Her mother passed away when she was 10 she told me, so she had little to no medical information about her, but upon investigation at the urging of her doctor in Ohio, she pressed for medical information and found her mother indeed took DES during her pregnancy with her. What this also causes is an incompetent or weak cervix, so when the baby reaches a certain weight, the cervix is unable to maintain the weight of the baby and all the uterine contents, resulting in labor starting, which she had to go through start to finish until she gave birth to what ended up being three boys she had to bury. Thankfully, after suffering this three times and finding out about her Mom, she got pregnant and had what is called a cervical cerclage, which stitches the cervix together to give it the same strength a normal cervix in pregnancy has. She now has two daughters who are in their 20's now and she is so fearful of what will happen to them. This shouldn't happen to anyone, but this woman is one of the nicest, most selfless and giving women you have the good fortune to know and watching her suffer this heartbreak was terrible.

This article needed to state that incompetent cervix issues are an effect of DES (not just preterm labor, it's not enough) and while the longer lasting issues don't go away, at least there is help with cervical cerclage so the women don't have to endure what she went through. She still visits three graves. How the government let this happen is absolutely criminal.