Diethylstilboestrol (DES) was given to pregnant women between 1946 and 1977. It was then found to be causing subtle abnormalities in the genital tracts of children who had been exposed to it when still in the uterus. Abnormal pre-cancerous cells can develop in the vagina at a very early age. Also the cervix, uterus and/or fallopian tubes can be abnormally shaped or inadequately developed (the uterus can be characteristically T-shaped).
This leads to an increased chance of reduced fertility, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and premature delivery. I’m sorry to say that the chances of having problems is quite high. About a third of women who were exposed to DES have fertility problems. Ectopic rates can be as high as 10 per cent and in some reports more than half of the pregnancies didn’t survive.