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SEX IN THE 1960s: FERTILITY DRUGS

European Precursors

Two effective drugs to combat infertility in women by stimulating the ovaries to prepare and release eggs were developed in Europe in the 1960s prior to the development of the American fertility drug clomiphene. Swedish scientists used pituitary glands obtained from autopsies to produce the fertility hormone gonadotropin. Injections were given monthly to infertile women for ten to fifteen days. A more popular drug was the Italian-made Pergonal, made from the urine of postmenopausal women. It took three gallons of urine to make one injection of Pergonal. Cutter Laboratories of Berkeley, California, was licensed to sell the drug in America. Clomiphene was more popular than the European drugs because it could be taken orally.

Results May Vary

One of the early reports of Pergonal's effects was from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Of twenty-one infertile women given the drug, fifteen became pregnant. Among the first seven who delivered, three had single babies, three had twins, and one had quadruplets. Gonadotropin and clomiphene had similar effects. Prospective patients were undeterred by the risk of multiple births, however. It was several years before physicians learned how to use these drugs effectively without having to advise would-be parents to buy nursery supplies in bulk.