A new study has found pregnant women who take epilepsy drugs have a higher chance of delivering babies with birth defects. This form of medication is generally prescribed to pregnant women who experience migraine, pain or live with bipolar disorder. Researchers reveal drugs like valproic acid and topiramate may cause birth defects like spina bifida and cleft lip.
The team came to this conclusion after studying data on 1,886,825 pregnancies between January 2011 and March 2015 in order to find pregnancies that ended in live births. Researchers wanted to identify the women who used 10 anti-epileptic seizure drugs before and after conception. They also made note of23 birth defects in the children delivered by these women who used this type of medication. Through their investigation, the team found8,794 women were given a single anti-epileptic drug.
Those who were prescribed with valproic acid had 19 times increased risk of having a baby with spina bifida as compared with women didn't take an epilepsy drug. Out of the 913 women prescribed valproic acid, six babies were born with spina bifida. Researchers also found the drug increased the risk of seven other birth defects, like cleft palate, as well as four types of heart defects. Meanwhile, women prescribed topiramate had seven times increased risk of having a baby with a cleft lip. Three babies had cleft lip among the 517 women prescribed topiramate.
"The new study confirms other large-scale studies where similar findings were found. It reinforces the risks associated with these particular two medications," Dr David Ficker, chairman-elect of the professional advisory board of the Epilepsy Foundation, told a news portal. Adding,"I also know that there are some women with difficult-to-control epilepsy that valproic acid may be the only medication that might be effective for them. All these different medicines have different ways of working in the brain, and they're not necessarily completely interchangeable."
Previous research has indicated the dangers of taking medications like valproic acid and topiramat. "Most notable, valproic acid use during pregnancy has been associated with a higher risk for lower IQ, autism and autism spectrum disorder, and the need for special education in the children who were exposed during pregnancy. Topiramate has also been associated with increased risk for low birth weight," Dr Page Pennell, president, American Epilepsy Society, told a news portal. Adding, "A planned pregnancy allows the health care provider and the woman to decide on the best plan for her individually ... to lower fetal risk while keeping her seizures under optimal control."
