Epilepsy Itself Carries Risks During Pregnancy and Delivery

Swedish study shows excess risk for adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes in women with epilepsy, but not generally with use of antiepileptic drugs.

Much research about maternal epilepsy and pregnancy has focused on adverse outcomes associated with fetal exposure to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs); hence, relatively little data are available about risk for pregnancy complications in women with epilepsy (WWE) independent of AED use. Now, in a cohort study based on >1.4 million births in Sweden from 1997 through 2011, researchers utilized a national medical birth registry and a prescribed drug registry to assess outcomes of singleton births in 3586 women with diagnoses of epilepsy compared with 870,000 women in the general population. Adjusted relative risk (aRR) was calculated for several pregnancy-related and perinatal outcomes.

For nearly all outcomes, risks were higher among WWE than in the…

Reviewing Author

Robert C. Knowlton, MD, MSPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMore Health, Inc.; The Alliance of Medical Companies

Grant/Research SupportNIH Small Business Innovation Research

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSouthern Epilepsy & EEG Society (Treasurer)

Robert C. Knowlton, MD, MSPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardMore Health, Inc.; The Alliance of Medical Companies

Grant/Research SupportNIH Small Business Innovation Research

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSouthern Epilepsy & EEG Society (Treasurer)

Epilepsy Itself Carries Risks During Pregnancy and Delivery

Topics

Reviewing Author