My mother's pregnancy in 1967--help! DES?

[captain optimism]

Hope this is the right place to post this.

In 1967, when my mom was pregnant with my younger sister, she had spotting. Her OB-GYN made a house call and gave her an injection. My mother didn't ask what it was.

My sister is TTC and having some problems. These could be because of her age, or luck of the draw, or really anything. I am worried that the shot my mom's doctor gave her could have been DES. (A lot of adult women who had this anti-miscarriage drug in utero have health problems, including infertility.)

Here's what I've found out so far:

*DES was commonly administered until 1971. In the 1960s it was the standard of care for miscarriage.
*DES seems to have been administered almost exclusively as tablets, and in courses--not a single dose, and not injected.
*my mom's doctor is dead and getting her medical records is going to be a major pain!


The injection could have been ANYTHING. It could have been Valium. it might have NOTHING to do with my sister's situation. But if it was DES, my sister might have a hard time getting pregnant and potential pregnancy difficulties.

Birth activists: what do you know that can help us figure this one out? Any ideas what this might have been?

[AuntG]

You didn't mention HOW long she's been trying, or whether the inability can be squarely put on her.

There was a settlement involving DES not long ago -- my sister-in-law received a huge amount because it rendered her infertile after her mother received it during her pregnancy. Based on just what little info you gave, there is no way to know about your sister's situation.

[captain optimism]

Originally Posted by AuntG

You didn't mention HOW long she's been trying, or whether the inability can be squarely put on her.

There was a settlement involving DES not long ago -- my sister-in-law received a huge amount because it rendered her infertile after her mother received it during her pregnancy. Based on just what little info you gave, there is no way to know about your sister's situation.

The main thing I want to know is, what kinds of drugs might an OB-GYN have injected a pregnant woman in 1967? I'm not persuaded that it was DES. My sister is 39, she has a lot of other health issues, this could really be anything. I just want to know if there is historical information about medicalized pregnancy in that era that could help us know what to do.

("Squarely put on her"? Is infertility some kind of blame game, too? Geez.)

Obviously my mom needs to try to get her medical records.

[ecoteat]

Originally Posted by captain optimism

("Squarely put on her"? Is infertility some kind of blame game, too? Geez.)

I don't think she meant anything like that--I read it as wondering if their fertility issues are your sister's or her partner's. It is just as likely that the problem is on his end.

Anyway, it sounds like you have a challenge ahead of you if you want answers. Good luck!

[captain optimism]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

I don't think she meant anything like that--I read it as wondering if their fertility issues are your sister's or her partner's. It is just as likely that the problem is on his end.

Anyway, it sounds like you have a challenge ahead of you if you want answers. Good luck!

I might be a little sensitive, since the whole conversation with my mom came out of her implicit passive-aggressive schtick about how long my sister waited to TTC. My mom thought she should have stayed with her first husband and had a baby, even though they weren't getting along. I'm glad she didn't follow that advice!

I am hoping my mom will pull strings and get her medical records. She can get people to do what she wants when she's motivated. I tried to get her to do this when I was pregnant with my son and she first told me the story.

[AuntG]

No harm intended!

Right, what I meant was: can fertility issues be "sqaurely put" on any one person or any one thing without knowing more first? You hadn't mentioned any other prospects on why it might be difficult to conceive, so it sounded to me like your sister was getting the blame.

Best wishes to her for finding answers to this heartbreaking situation.

** There is fertility forum on MDC that may yield better results to your questions.

[applejuice]

I think your mom needs to get the records. Keep in mind that DES was also masqueraded as a vitamin pill, so the doctor could list it as a vitamin shot.

DES was prescribed as a vitamin pill and injected into new mothers as a dry-up shot if a woman did not want to breastfeed. DES had lots of uses..

s

My mom was given DES for me when she slipped and fell and broke her water....she went into premature labor before she could fill the prescription.

DES was also used as a fattening agent for cattle until 1979, officially.

[captain optimism]

I thought I would post a follow-up to this, in case it's interesting for anyone. I spoke with someone at DES Action about what drugs an OB-GYN might have administered to a woman who feared miscarriage in 1967. She said that it was possible that the doctor injected my mom with progesterone. Exposure to progesterone in utero could have some deleterious effects to the formation of reproductive organs, but the risk of cancer that has been established with DES exposure hasn't been shown.


Of course the doctor could have also just given my mom a sedative.

Or a cocktail of two or three of those possibilities.

And we're talking about ONE exposure here!

In any case, my sister said that her tests so far have not shown any of the more dramatic abnormalities associated with in utero DES exposure--no weird uterine shape or anything like that.

Everyone should just ask before they let someone give them an injection or a drug! Even if they and the doctor think it's safe--there has to be some kind of record for later. I took asthma meds while pregnant--I'm just hoping that doesn't turn out to be something my son has to look up later.

[applejuice]

Thank you for that update, Captain Optimism. I hope everything works out for your sister and then you have a little cousin on the way for your little pirate king.

I have followed the DES disaster closely, first as a high school student in the early 70s, watching a couple of classmates have hysterectomies, then as a mother with commisserating with friends who had fertility problems, and with friends who had cancer and other problems along the way. My mother gave me the prescription paper written out for her so long ago. I still have it; I think it is important enough to put in my own baby book and perhaps copies of it in my children's baby books. I know that many doctors are now saying that the DES problem was exaggerated, but how many of them had lives affected by it? Dr. Robert Mendelsohn said he was part of the double blind study at the University of Chicago that showed that DES had no effect one way or another on pregnancy outcomes in the late 1940s

We should all be able to live the life we want without having another person change our ability to live fully before we are born.

DES is having third generational effects; I do not think there is any informed consent here, seventy years after the facts.