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Medications’ Side Effects That Harmed the Fetus Kept From Pregnant Women
A common drug used for epilepsy caused congenital defects in babies born of women taking the drug but they weren’t told about its dangers.
Pregnancy can be a time of wonder or of great concern, and it is the latter that can bring on serious issues related to the babies. The world learned of the dangers of thalidomide years ago after children were born with life-disturbing malformations of their bodies. Women had been prescribed the medication to alleviate morning sickness and epilepsy.
I had an associate who was a DES baby. Her mother had taken the hormone to prevent miscarriage. When she decided to become pregnant, they discovered that she had cervical cancer, which was most likely a result of the drug. She had to spend four months in bed and undergo some surgical procedures to protect her pregnancy. Yes, she had a healthy baby and became an advocate for women who were born DES babies and had cancer.
More than 10,000 babies in 46 countries were born to these women while the drug was being aggressively pushed for acceptance in the US, but one woman scientist, Frances Oldham Kelsey, stood in the way. It was still used between 2006 and 2014, and a drug used primarily in the 1960s and 1970s was available and prescribed in 120 countries. Her obituary tells the sad story of…
