DES daughters have experienced the pain of early pregnancy loss. Much of this is due to the abnormal shape, function and blood flow in the uterus in DES daughters. Nothing can compensate a woman who has suffered repeated DES miscarriages but a brief review on this subject is provided for your reference. Our DES attorneys have the experience to determine if DES has been the cause of your miscarriage or not and have successfully advocated for women who have experienced DES miscarriage.
In Kauffman's report (14), second-trimester spontaneous pregnancy losses were more common in DES-exposed women (6.3% vs. 1.6%, relative risk 4.25). More first-trimester spontaneous abortions occurred in DES-exposed women than in controls with a relative risk of 1.31. In her review, Swan noted that overall, based on the DESAD cohort study and follow-up until 1978 that "DES exposed women were 1.8 times as likely to have a spontaneous abortion compared to a control group" (4).
Based on the ultrasonography details provided by Salle et al., it is not surprising that DES-exposed women have a far higher risk of an adverse pregnancy outcome (11). Swan calculated that risk based on her review of 7 controlled cohort studies as 41% of the pregnancies ending in an adverse outcome compared to 15% of the control group, with a relative risk of 2.7 (4). Moreover, with regard to abnormalities of the cervix, vagina and uterus, DES-exposed women experienced 67% non full-term outcomes with a relative risk of 4.9 compared to controls.
A recent report by Sher and Fisch suggested that sildenafil (Viagra) could be useful in patients with reduced uterine artery blood flow undergoing IVF. So this option might be available to DES-exposed women (16).
4. Swan S.H. Intrauterine Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol: Long-term Effects in Humans. APMIS 108:793-804, 2000.
11. Salle B. et al. Transvaginal Ultrasound Studies of Vascular and Morphological Changes in Uteri Exposed to Diethylstilbestrol In Utero. Human Reproduction. 11; 11: 2531-2536, 1996.
14. Kaufman R.H. et al. Continued Follow-up of Pregnancy Outcomes in Diethylstilbestrol-exposed Offspring. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 96;4: 483-9, October, 2000.
16. Sher G. and Fisch J.D. Vaginal Sildenafil (Viagra): A Preliminary Report of a Novel Method to Improve Uterine Artery Blood Flow and Endometrial Development in Patients Undergoing IVF. Human Reproduction 15; 4: 806-9, April 2000.