Abstract
From 1938 to at least 1971, millions of pregnant women and their unborn children were exposed to the iatrogenic effects of diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic oestrogen that was marketed to prevent miscarriages and to promote healthier babies. DES use has been documented in the United States, Canada, France, Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Ivory Coast. Further, even after it was contraindicated for use in pregnancy in 1971, DES has been ‘dumped’ in some third world countries for over-the-counter use during pregnancy (Direcks and ‘t Hoen 1986; Rochon Ford 1993; Bekker et al. 1996). Exposing global effects, the DES story is a harbinger warning us against potential harm from fertility drugs, hormone replacement, environmental toxins and other hormone impostors. DES research has served as a model for studying exposure to oestrogenic pollutants around the world (Cody 1998).
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© 2003 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Davidson, D. (2003). Woe the Women: DES, Mothers and Daughters. In: Earle, S., Letherby, G. (eds) Gender, Identity & Reproduction. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230522930_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230522930_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-50829-7
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