Thalidomide
Thalidomide is a type of medicine that was created a long time ago to help people with different health problems. It was used mostly for pregnant women who had morning sickness, which is when you feel really sick and yucky when you wake up in the morning.
Doctors thought that thalidomide would be perfect because it could help them feel better without making them sleepy. Unfortunately, something really bad happened.
When some of the pregnant women took thalidomide, their babies were born with different body parts that did not form properly. Some babies had arms or legs that were too short, some didn’t have any arms or legs at all, and others had other problems with their organs that made them very sick. It was a really scary time for moms and dads because nobody knew why this was happening.
Scientists did a lot of research and found out that thalidomide was the problem. When the moms took the medicine, it affected how their babies were growing in their belly.
After this discovery, doctors stopped giving thalidomide to pregnant women and stopped making it. Now, doctors can use other kinds of medicine to help pregnant women with morning sickness that won’t hurt their babies. Scientists still study thalidomide to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Doctors thought that thalidomide would be perfect because it could help them feel better without making them sleepy. Unfortunately, something really bad happened.
When some of the pregnant women took thalidomide, their babies were born with different body parts that did not form properly. Some babies had arms or legs that were too short, some didn’t have any arms or legs at all, and others had other problems with their organs that made them very sick. It was a really scary time for moms and dads because nobody knew why this was happening.
Scientists did a lot of research and found out that thalidomide was the problem. When the moms took the medicine, it affected how their babies were growing in their belly.
After this discovery, doctors stopped giving thalidomide to pregnant women and stopped making it. Now, doctors can use other kinds of medicine to help pregnant women with morning sickness that won’t hurt their babies. Scientists still study thalidomide to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.