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Health Care Providers Home > Information to Identify and Manage DES Patients > Patients Who Are Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons > Counseling the Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons
Patients Who Are Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons

Patients Who Are Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons

 Overview
 Identification of the Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons
 Counseling the Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons
 Ongoing Research on the Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons
 DES References: Research on Offspring of DES Daughters and Sons
Counseling the Offspring of DES Daughters or Sons

How should DES Sons and Daughters and their children be counseled about possible third-generation effects?

Animal studies have raised some concerns of possible cancer risk (240,241,242). Few studies have been published that focus on third-generation effects in humans. Follow-up studies will be needed to definitively confirm or rule out possible health effects.

Men and women who may have been exposed to DES in utero should be encouraged to discuss the issue with their mothers, and, when possible, obtain their mother's obstetrical records. This is of particular importance since health risks to their children and grandchildren are still being studied. Many women who were prescribed DES while pregnant are elderly. If their children and grandchildren are not informed of their potential risk, opportunities for future intervention may be lost.

For a complete list of the numbered citations on this page see DES References.

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