The bottom line is that diethylstilbestrol should never have been placed on the market. The drug manufacturers who jumped on the diethylstilbestrol bandwagon either never made the computations or didn't care, but the recommended dosage given to pregnant women was the equivalent of the estrogenic effect of 55,666 birth control pills.
This ad appeared in a major medical journal in 1957. The small print at the bottom reads: "Recommended for routine prophylaxis in ALL pregnancies... 96 per cent live delivery with desPLEX in one series of 1200 patients - bigger and stronger babies, too. No gastric or other side effects with desPLEX - in either high or low dosage."
There was absolutely no scientific support for this type of propaganda:

You can learn the latest information at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's diethylstilbestrol information center. USA Today recounts the history of diethylstilbestrol and the health problems it created in its story "Hidden toll of DES, a generation later."
The following Web sites may be of further interest to you:
National Women's Health Network |
www.nwhn.org/ |
Resolve (National Infertility Organization) |
www.resolve.org |
American Society for Reproductive Medicine |
www.asrm.org |
The American Surrogacy Center, Inc. |
www.surrogacy.com |
|
Centers for Disease Control's Reproductive Health Information Source |
www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/ |
DES Action |
www.desaction.org |
The DES Cancer Network |
www.descancer.org |
**This website should be used as an educational tool only. If you suspect you have symptoms of breast cancer, please contact a licensed physician for diagnosis and treatment.**