SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
“WONDER DRUG” LAUNCHED 06/27/2023
How Many Thalidomide babies Were born in the US?
Every source from 1962 through 2019 has quoted an incorrect number of “thalidomide babies” born in the United States. FDA records investigated by journalist Jennifer Vanderbes suggest that dozens of babies were never identified or officially counted.
The official FDA count released in the 1960s was seventeen thalidomide babies born in the United States. Nine of them were born to mothers who took samples made by American drug companies. Eight other mothers said they obtained the drug in other countries.
There were many more. In 2023, Random House released WONDER DRUG: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THALIDOMIDE IN AMERICA AND ITS HIDDEN VICTIMS, detailing the previously unreported suspicions raised by the original FDA investigation.
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Thalidomide in the USA: Seeking a Life of Dignity and Independence
A few of approximately 150 self-identified survivors we have located since 2016
Bonnie: born in Illinois in 1962
JoJo: born in New York in 1962
Jean: born in Ohio in 1962
Laura: born in California, 1958
Darren: born in Missouri in 1962
Steve: born in New Jersey, 1962
Gwen: born in Ohio in 1962
Burt: born in Wisconsin in 1957
Kim: born in Pennsylvania in 1959
Jan: born in Oklahoma in 1962
Tawana: born in North Carolina in 1963
Gianna: born on a US Military Base in 1962
John: born in Mississippi in 1959
Terrie: born in 1964
Bobbie:
Leslie: born in Maryland, 1959
Marta: born in New York in 1961
Randall: born on a US military base, Madrid, Spain, 1958
Latest News
MERMAID A Memoir of Resilience: Washington Post Review
Read the Washington Post review of MERMAID A Memoir of Resistance
MERMAID named a Best Memoir by Oprah’s Book Club
MERMAID A Memoir of Resilience, written by Eileen Cronin, a member of US Thalidomide Survivors, has been named a Best Memoir by Oprah’s Book Club.
From Our Blog
My Life in Shorthand — Chapter 4
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MINISERIES My sister was not just 8 years older but she was a TALL teenager. i was 4 feet tall when she was 6 feet tall. She kept me tough by wrestling with me, giving me grief if I ate like a slob, and teased me if i wet my pants. She said "they...
My Life in Shorthand — Chapter 3
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MINISERIES Less than a year after that lonely horrid hospital stay we moved to Massachusettes (from Va.) 1st time we lived off an Army base. We had a super cool kid-friendly house cuz the entire daylight basement was turned into a playhouse for me...
My Life in Shorthand — Chapter 2
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MINISERIES I was born in Germany to white American parents stationed in Frankfurt. My mother had always been worried she'd get pregnant but never really wanted children. My sister was born 8 years my senior. She was born unable to move her neck to...