Memories of the Teratology Society: 1972-2020

My career goal in 1971 was to learn about the causes of malformations. Attending the annual meetings of the Teratology Society and reading the articles in Teratology exposed me to the scientists and clinicians involved in this research and the methods being used.

Over a period of 49 years (1972-2020), I heard many presentations about several exposures in pregnancy that can cause birth defects. Symposia and platform presentations provided unique and stimulating information on the fetal effects of the teratogen thalidomide.

I developed research studies and presented the results from our studies on teratogenic exposures, such as anticonvulsant drugs, the prenatal diagnosis procedure chorionic villus sampling, and the abortifacient misoprostol. The annual Pregnancy Registry Workshop was developed as a forum for discussing issues related to this new method of evaluating potential teratogenic exposures in pregnancy.

Attending the annual meetings and reading the articles in the journal Teratology (now Birth Defects Research) have been an instructive and enjoyable way to learn about the causes of malformations.