As a minister’s wife, Mitzi Hamby, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, found that she was often throwing baby showers at her home. “It seemed everyone I knew was having babies, except me,” she says. “When the guests left after every baby shower, I would crumble into tears.” And Mother’s Day events at her church were so painful, she couldn’t even bring herself to attend.
Te Hambys knew there was a reason they were having problems. “My mother-in-law had taken DES (diethylstibestrol, a drug prescribed to some pregnant women between 1938 and 1971, because it was mistakenly believed to prevent miscarriages),” explains Mitzi. “Marty and I knew that DES offspring often had difficulties with reproduction. During our six years of trying to have a baby, we learned that Marty had a low sperm count and low motility. I’d see families enjoying outings with their children, and it got to me where I couldn’t stand it; I’d have to go home. It took such a big toll on me. I was sure we would never have a child, it was so painful to Marty, he couldn’t even talk about it.”
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