This website is dedicated to women who take anticonvulsant drugs to control  Epilepsy or other conditions who have children that have been affected by the anticonvulsant medication they took during pregnancy.

It has long been realised that the frequency of various congenital birth defects is increased 2 - 3 times in babies of mothers who took anticonvulsant drugs in pregnancy.  The major problems encountered are diverse, including spina bifida, cleft palate, congenital heart disease, kidney abnormalities and limb defects.   there is also an increased frequency of minor birth defects but the pattern of problems encountered is not specific.   In some children the facial features,  although subtle, are nevertheless quite distinctive and there is also concern that the frequency of learning problems and speech delay is increased.   Some of these children have behavioural disturbances which lead to a diagnosis of mild autism.   Newly recognised features from recent research are an increased frequency of joint laxity, short-sightedness and astigmatism.   The commonly prescribed anticonvulsants of the past - phenytoin, phenobarbitone, carbamazepine and sodium valproate - can all give rise to problems in babies who have been exposed to them in pregnancy.

The pattern of problems varies according to the drug, although there is also overlap in the features seen.   as yet there is insufficient information about the risk associated with the newer anti convulsants taken during pregnancy.

The reasons why these problems occur is not well understood at present and more research is needed.

Dr. P Turnpenny
Consultant Geneticist
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital