Did your mother take Diethylstilbestrol (DES) while pregnant with you?

My mother, who was a maternity nurse, had several miscarriages/stillbirths before me. When she became pregnant with me in 1937 (I was born June 27, 1938), her doctor (Dr. Levine, I believe), told her he was going to give her something new that could help. What was it? It might have been DES, because that was new at the time. Although someone at NIH said it wasn't available to the general public at that time, I think that a doctor could have requested it. I have seen some other documentation that stated it was not limited to the "beginning in 1938" time frame. I have wondered about that, because I have had problems with anxiety and depression that began in my teen years. Also, one of my sons had an episode in which an immaturity of the nervous system caused him to stop breathing briefly as an infant due to a slight fever. The same son died at the age of 27 of lung cancer that metastasized to the brain and was inoperable, so I often wonder about this. It was about 6 months from diagnosis to his death.

My mother had 2 or 3 DES injections in 1959 when pregnant with my younger sister, due to one previous miscarriage. Yes, only one prior miscarriage! Certainly not necessary for that drug intervention! I don't know when in the pregnancy she had them, but they weren't given from any miscarriage symptoms in the pregnancy. She can't remember exactly how many injections, and tried to get her medical records about them, but they weren't available. Probably because too long ago.
My sister had severe PMS, including rage, and weight gain from age 15. She was physically violent with me (not sure if that was only premenstrually), and her psychiatrist put in a mental health facility for a few months in her teen years. She was on the Pill on and off also, which could have made things worse.
She's had precancerous cells on her cervix, and one symptom that isn't being mentioned here, a problem with her son in utero sitting too high in her womb, jammed under her ribs. This resulted in a boney ridge on her son's forehead, and he had surgery on it when he was a baby.
DES can cause a triangle shaped uterus. So her baby didn't have enough room.
I told mum about this, but not my sister (I wasn't speaking to her at the time). Mum said, Don't tell Glenda (sister) due to her temper, as mum was worried Glenda would verbally abuse her and blame her. The whole family knew of her temper and occasional violence. I told Glenda after mum died.
My sister's teen son has anxiety and low self esteem. I can't get along with my sister, as she has like a split personality, nice for awhile, then nasty, critical, and is narcissistic at times. She's 67 now. I haven't heard of any other health problems, but we became estranged again in 2017, after her verbal abuse. Her weight stabilized in her 30s. I think that was after going off the Pill.
I've had to totally cease communicating with her for the final time for my own emotional wellbeing.

My mother had two miscarriages and when she started to lose me she was hospitalized. She was injected with DES each day for a week. At the age of forty she gave birth to me.

Wow, am I glad to find this thread. I am a DES baby, as was my younger sister who died at age 49. I suffered a lot of depression until after menopause, but I am from a long line of that, so I don't know that that's a DES factor for me. I do know that both my sister and I wanted to have children and were not able to. We both got a late start, and that may be a factor, too. My mother's doctor did not want to prescribe DES but she campaigned for it, having had two miscarriages and wanting desperately to have children. She did not take DES with my two younger siblings, a sister and brother.
I had no idea that DES was a factor in infertility, and no gynecologist mentioned it, though several gasped when they looked into the speculum and I explained to them what they were seeing. I believed going into my 40s that I would, finally have children. Same with my sister who did artificial insemination and lost the fetus in the first trimester.
I am a writer trying to write more about this, have published one poem, have interview one friend with one son and an amazing story of two doctors in an O.S. U. clinic.
I look forward to reading more here.

@sophie46
Gasp! What a story. A hug from here too.

Wow, am I glad to find this thread. I am a DES baby, as was my younger sister who died at age 49. I suffered a lot of depression until after menopause, but I am from a long line of that, so I don't know that that's a DES factor for me. I do know that both my sister and I wanted to have children and were not able to. We both got a late start, and that may be a factor, too. My mother's doctor did not want to prescribe DES but she campaigned for it, having had two miscarriages and wanting desperately to have children. She did not take DES with my two younger siblings, a sister and brother.
I had no idea that DES was a factor in infertility, and no gynecologist mentioned it, though several gasped when they looked into the speculum and I explained to them what they were seeing. I believed going into my 40s that I would, finally have children. Same with my sister who did artificial insemination and lost the fetus in the first trimester.
I am a writer trying to write more about this, have published one poem, have interview one friend with one son and an amazing story of two doctors in an O.S. U. clinic.
I look forward to reading more here.