Thalidomide was released into the market in 1957 in West Germany under the label of Contergan. The German drug company Chemie Grünenthal (now Grünenthal) developed and sold the drug. Primarily prescribed as a sedative or hypnotic, thalidomide also claimed to cure “anxiety, insomnia, gastritis, and tension." Afterwards it was used against nausea and to alleviate morning sickness in pregnant women. Thalidomide became an over the counter drug in Germany on October 1, 1957, and could be bought without a prescription. Shortly after the drug was sold, in Germany, between 5,000 and 7,000 infants were born with malformation of the limbs (phocomelia). Only 40% of these children survived. The statistic was given that “50 percent of the mothers with deformed children had taken thalidomide during the first trimester of pregnancy.” Throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States, 10,000 cases were reported of infants with phocomelia; only 50% of the 10,000 survived. Those subjected to thalidomide while in the womb experienced limb deficiencies in a way that the long limbs either were not developed or presented themselves as stumps. Other effects included: deformed eyes, hearts, alimentary, and urinary tracts, and blindness and deafness. I'm a Tha-li-do-mide Thalidomide baby...
Please LIKE, SHARE & Pass it on...https://www.facebook.com/thetruthaboutthalidomide  Tawana Williams 252-291-6081