The mission of DES Action USA is to identify, educate, provide support to, and advocate for DES-exposed individuals as well as educate health care professionals.

In 1938, DES (diethylstilbestrol) was the first synthetic estrogen to be created. Never patented, DES was marketed using hundreds of brand names in the mistaken belief it prevented miscarriages and premature deliveries. DES was prescribed primarily between 1938 and 1971 (but not limited to those years). It was considered the standard of care for problem pregnancies from the late 1940s well into the 1960s in the U.S. and was widely prescribed during that time. DES was sometimes even included in prenatal vitamins so there are many individuals who were not actually given a prescription for DES itself, yet were exposed to it anyway. 

In the United States, an estimated 5–10 million people were exposed to DES, including women who were prescribed DES while pregnant, and the children born of those pregnancies. Now researchers are investigating whether DES health issues are extending into the next generation, the so-called DES Grandchildren. As study results come in, there is growing evidence that this group has been adversely impacted by a drug prescribed to their grandmothers.

• DES MOTHERS (Women Prescribed DES While Pregnant)
• DES DAUGHTERS (Women Whose Mothers Were Given DES While Pregnant With Them)
• DES SONS (Males Whose Mothers Were Given DES While Pregnant With Them)
• DES Grandchildren  (Offspring of DES Daughters and DES Sons)

DES Timeline

DES Action International Affiliates

http://www.desaction.org