Description:
A male who was exposed before birth to a synthetic form of the hormone estrogen called diethylstilbestrol (DES) because their mother took DES while pregnant with them. DES was prescribed to some pregnant women between about 1940 and 1971 because it was thought to prevent miscarriage, premature labor, and other complications related to pregnancy. It was stopped in 1971 due to medical problems that were seen in the children of women who took it. DES sons have an increased risk of cysts in the testicles and may have other testicular problems, such as undescended testicles (a condition in which one or both testicles fail to move from the abdomen into the scrotum) and an increased risk of inflammation or infection of the testicles.
