(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Epilepsy can adversely affect many aspects of a
person’s life. But pregnancy doesn’t appear to be one of them.
According to new guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology and American
Epilepsy Society, the condition doesn’t raise the risk for common
pregnancy-related problems, including preterm birth.
“Overall, what we found should be very reassuring to every woman with epilepsy
planning to become pregnant,” lead guideline author Cynthia Harden, M.D.,
director of the epilepsy division at the University of Miami’s Miller School of
Medicine, was quoted as saying. “These guidelines show that women with epilepsy
are not at a substantially increased risk of having a Cesarean section, late
pregnancy bleeding, or premature contractions or premature labor and delivery.
Also, if a woman is seizure free nine months before she becomes pregnant, it’s
likely that she will not have any seizures during the pregnancy.”
The guidelines do suggest women avoid a certain epilepsy drug during pregnancy,
however, citing a link to fetal malformations and thinking problems in children.
Valproate has been associated with both problems. Women may also want to avoid
phenytoin and phenobarbital, which have also been linked to thinking problems in
offspring, and they should be carefully monitored for the level of epilepsy
drugs in their system, since pregnancy tends to decrease the amount of
medication in the blood.
The guidelines are based on a review of all scientific studies available on the
topic of epilepsy and pregnancy.
SOURCE: Neurology, published online April 27, 2009
