Women with Epilepsy and Pregnancy Issues

Above all know that 90% of women with epilepsy have normal children but special precautions need to be taken and there are risks. Giving birth to a healthy child is possible provided many precautionary measures are taken.

Women with epilepsy who desire to become pregnant need not let all the precautionary tasks blemish the joy in becoming a mother. Joy can still be abundant throughout the entire planning, pregnancy months and long after delivery. The key is to plan the pregnancy, every step of the way, with her neurologist or epileptologist, taking into account which meds she's taking. Of all the time in a woman's life to have an excellent communication line with her neurologist is now, especially a woman with seizures. Although discussions relating to her seizure frequency, drug type and dosage can get tedious, she will be thank herself every day of her new child's life that she acted responsibly. Prevention is always the first rule whet it comes to pregnancy, epilepsy or not, and cannot be restated often enough. Just as a "normal" woman is told not to drink or smoke, it only makes sense that ingesting large amounts of anticonvulsants can harm the fetus. Birth defects can be prevented if the mother educates herself on what the inherent risks are, for her particular case. In some cases a medicine change or decrease is possible, in others it is not. Hormone fluctuations can complicate matters by affecting the way her medication is absorbed.

What drugs should she be especially concerned with?

Dilantin slightly increases cleft palate, heart disease and Fetal Hydanton Syndrome. Phenobarbital's risks are fewer than for Dilantin, but there are risks worthy of her doctor's discussion. Depakene is especially critical to monitor in the first few months of pregnancy, as there is an increased risk of spina bifida, as high as 1-2 in 100! In the planning stage of pregnancy, she should be tested by an obstetrician for neural tube defect (spina bifida). All anticonvulsants have their degree of risks, needless to say. The more milligrams daily she takes, the more risks there are. Seizure control plays the key role in whether her medicine can be reduced to risks. A woman with seizures has a difficult time even when not pregnant. The goal is not to sacrifice a woman's health for the sake of her child. If a medicine reduction caused her to have increased seizures, she'd have less strength and endurance to endure the birth process ahead of her.

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