Vol. 403 No. 3
20 Mrs. Fennell asked the Minister for Health the action which is being taken to publish information about Stilbeostrol exposure of Irish women in accord with the European Resolution of May 1989; if he has sent directives to doctors on the matter; and if he intends to establish the extent of the problem here.
The tracing of female offspring of women who took diethylstylboestrol (DES) would be almost impossible for a number of reasons. Principally, in practical terms, few women could be expected to remember the drugs administered to them during pregnancy in the forties, fifties and sixties and, given the lapse of time, few patient record cards kept by doctors for that era would remain in existence.
The health promotion unit of my Department has had consultations with the Institue of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland with a view to the possibility of preparing suitable material in the matter. In considering the material to be published I will obviously have regard to the May 1989 resolution of the European Parliament.
While I am conscious of the concern in relation to the development of DES related cancer in the daughters of women who received treatment with diethylstylboestrol, I feel that this whole area should be approached cautiously so as to ensure against unduly raising fears among women in relation to the possibility of their developing cancer.
