SEIZURES-PREGNANCY

SUMMARY

1. Uncontrolled seizures can cause placental abruption and early labor and premature delivery.

2. When the risk of teratogenicity is compared to the problems that seizures cause during pregnancy, the risks of uncontrolled seizures is greater!

3. There is no "safe" AED, but valproate is more likely to cause neural tube defects than other commonly used drug.

4. The teratogenic risk of AEDs is decreased by folic acid, and thus, all women of child-bearing age on anti-epileptic drugs should take 1-2 mg of folate daily.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].