Thalidomide and Congenital Abnormalities

The continued interest by medical observers and the preoccupation of the daily press with the effects of thalidomide on the foetus encourages yet another account of congenital abnormalities believed to be due to thalidomide (distaval) taken during pregnancy. Although the account which follows dates from February, I %2. publication was delayed because all the medical literature at that time suggested a direct relation between the time in pregnancy at which thalidomide was taken and the type of malformation produced, implying that arrest of development occurs in organs actively forming in the weeks when the drug is being taken. In this case the mother had taken thalidomide for