Were you pregnant or born between 1938 & 1980's
You may be affected by DES
DES is a hormone drug - a synthetic oestrogen - that was prescribed
in good faith to millions of pregnant women in many countries
around the world, including Australia, from 1938 to the 1980s.
DES was thought to prevent miscarriage and ensure a healthy
pregnancy, but it did not work.
Women who took DES and the children they carried are at risk
for certain health problems and may need special care, even
if there are no obvious concerns. We do not know exactly how
may women in Australia are DES exposed, but we know DES was
prescribed by both obstetricians and general practitioners
as tablets, injections, vaginal suppositories and sometimes
in pregnancy vitamins. There were over 200 brand names of this
drug. There may be many people who do not know they were exposed
to DES and some women may not remember taking DES.
DES was also used to stop breast-feeding after giving birth
and this is not known to cause any problems. In the latter
years of DES usage, another hormone called progesterone was
much more commonly used in pregnancy, but this hormone is
not known to cause any problems.
It is not known whether DES will affect future generations.
This information about DES and its links will be maintained
and updated. If you definitely know you have been exposed to
DES, or if your mother said she took "hormones" whilst carrying
you, or if you are merely interested in aspects of women's
health, keep watching this site over the years for any further
information as it comes to hand from research and clinical
experience.
If you are a DES daughter there is important new information about breast cancer risks in the section about DES daughters |
