Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSEpilepsy medication linked to pregnancy complications
Certain forms of epilepsy medication could increase the risk of complications if taken while pregnant, Norwegian scientists have claimed.
The research, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, claims that three drugs commonly used to treat the condition in the UK could increase the likelihood of a range of conditions, including pre-eclampsia and heavy bleeding.
The study authors, who based their research on a comparison of 2,805 pregnancies in women with a history of the condition to 362,302 pregnancies in women without the condition, said: ‘Pregnant women with epilepsy using anti-epileptic drugs had a 1.5-fold increased risk of mild pre-eclampsia, a nearly two-fold increased risk of late vaginal bleeding, a 1.5-fold increased risk of gestational hypertension and delivery before week 34.’
‘Pregnant women with epilepsy without use of anti-epileptic drugs had no increased risk of any of the complications studied.’
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