Children+of+Thalidomide

Children of Thalidomide



Around 12,000 children were born with some kind of ability due to damage caused by thalidomide. Countless more miscarriages, which weren't recorded as caused by thalidomide, mean we can'y assess correctly the true scale of the disaster.

One effect of thalidomide is targeting blood vessels. It can block the growth and tends to target parts of the body undergoing growth. It is possible that so many of the thalidomide babies experience an effect called phocomelia because morning sickness can appear around the time of fetal limb growth.

Many other forms of damage can also be done to the baby. An example is brain damage. Luckily many children's disabilities are physical and they learn to cope with them and show normal intelligence.

However to this date only 17 babies were born in America, mostly due to thalidomide brought in from other countries.

Now all countries require this information, and Drug tests have become infinitely more thorough.

chm.bris.ac.uk. I used this website for the picture. I also got some of my information from this website. It educated me a lot about the disease, and taught me stuff that i did not know !