FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
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Tom Willis Tomsfeet Productions E-mail -- tom@tomsfeet.com Phone -- (619) 723-4015
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In Europe and Canada during the early 1960s, the drug thalidomide was prescribed to treat morning sickness in pregnant women.
At that time, it was not approved in the United States because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated there was insufficient
proof of the drug’s safety for humans.
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Thalidomide was soon banned worldwide when it was discovered that it caused tragic birth defects.
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Mothers who had taken the drug when the fetus's arms and legs were beginning to form had babies with a widely varying but
recognizable pattern of limb deformities. The most well-known pattern, absence of most of the arm with the hands extending
flipper-like from the shoulders, is called phocomelia. (1)
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More than 10,000 children around the world were born with major malformations, many missing arms and legs, because their
mothers had taken the drug during early pregnancy. (2)
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(1) Source: Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/genpub/topics/thalidomide2-ccae.html
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(2) Source March of Dimes, November 1988 http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1172.asp
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