Epilepsy in pregnancy

In every 1000 pregnancies, between two and five infants are born to women with epilepsy. For such women, pregnancy can be a time of anxiety over maternal and fetal wellbeing. In 96% of pregnancies they will deliver a healthy child. However, some women will experience an increase in seizure frequency, which can be harmful for the mother or fetus, and evidence comes from observational study and registry data suggests some antiepileptic drugs are associated with an increased risk of congenital and neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Michael Kinney, specialist registrar in neurology, and James Morrow, principal investigator of the UK and Ireland Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register, both based at the Royal Group of Hospitals in Belfast, join us to discuss how to manage epilepsy in pregnancy. Read the review: http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2880 For information on joining the UK epilepsy and pregnancy register, call 0800 389 1248 or visit http://www.epilepsyandpregnancy.co.uk/