New Zealand women come forward over Primodos birth defect drug

Six New Zealand women have now come forward with concerns they were prescribed a pregnancy test drug linked to birth defects.

Hundreds of families in the UK are battling for compensation, claiming Primodos caused deformities in their children in the 1960s and 1970s.

Now a Tauranga woman believes her son was also a victim.

It's been 40 years, but Robyn Hughes remembers it clearly. She was 23 and pregnant. Her son was born a month early and had a deformed windpipe, which made breathing difficult for him.

She always wondered why - and recently saw the news about Primodos.

There's evidence that Primodos was used in New Zealand from 1966 until 1975, when there was a request for it to be withdrawn from the New Zealand market, amid concerns over birth defects.

Ms Hughes believes she was prescribed the drug two years later. But her medical records were destroyed.

Six women have reported cases in New Zealand. But Medsafe says because it was so long ago it's difficult to confirm the details, including whether Primodos was actually taken.

Ms Hughes wants to see the Government set up an expert working group and is urging more women to come forward.

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