Haukeland University Hospital: Anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy risky

Haukeland is one of the largest hospitals in Norway. Haukeland is a teaching hospital with close links to the University of Bergen. Every year, 180 medical students receive their clinical training at the hospital, which is also an important teaching and training centre for other groups of health-care and other students. Photo: Wikipedia.org

A new Norwegian research suggests that it is largely the drugs used to treat epilepsy and not the condition itself that increase the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, writes Reuters.

“Epilepsy is the most common maternal neurologic disorder requiring medical treatment during pregnancy,” Dr. Gyri Veiby, of Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway, and colleagues write. “Risks associated with medical treatment during pregnancy must be weighed against the risk for fetal or maternal complications due to epileptic seizures.”

Read the article on Reuters.com