Epilepsy drugs 'increase risk of pregnancy complications'

THE use of anti-epileptic drugs in pregnancy might increase the risk of complications.

A study has found that three drugs used as standard in the UK – carbamazepine, lamotrigine and sodium valproate – might increase the likelihood of conditions such as pre-eclampsia, which is linked to high blood pressure.

Researchers in Norway analysed 2,805 pregnancies in women with a history of epilepsy and compared them with 362,302 pregnancies in women without the condition.

Among those with epilepsy, or a history of it, 34 per cent were taking anti-epileptic drugs. This group

had an increased risk of mild pre-eclampsia, bleeding late in pregnancy and delivery before 34 weeks of gestation compared with women without epilepsy.

According to the research, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, no significant increase in the risk of these complications was found in women with epilepsy not using the drugs.