Fertility in Men Exposed Prenatally to Diethylstilbestrol

Diethylstilbestrol is an orally active synthetic estrogen that for many years was thought to prevent complications of pregnancy. Between the late 1940s and the early 1970s, diethylstilbestrol was prescribed for 2 million to 3 million women in the United States during pregnancy. 1 In 1971, diethylstilbestrol was found to be associated with the development of clear-cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and cervix in young women whose mothers had been given diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy. 2 The use of diethylstilbestrol in pregnancy was subsequently banned. Since then, women exposed prenatally to diethylstilbestrol have been found to have an increased risk of reproductive difficulties, including . . .