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Children born to mothers who take antiseizure medications to manage
seizures and psychiatric conditions during pregnancy may face increased
risks of neurodevelopmental conditions
https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2024/November/Children-exposed-to-ant...
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|u/hannabarberaisawhore - 18 hours
|
|Yes, we know, we are all told this.


  |u/tert_butoxide - 17 hours
  |
  |Yeah, the finding that lamotrigine is *not* associated with increased
  |risk of neurodevelopmental disorders is much more of a headliner for
  |me. The other 3 meds examined are already established as teratogens,
  |especially valproate.


    |u/sabbiecat - 16 hours
    |
    |I was surprised too when my neurologist added that to my medications
    |list for my recent kiddo. Both time I was switched to keppra. I was
    |taking topomax with my first kiddo who I didn’t know I was pregnant
    |with, because of my PCOS. I’ve always been told I couldn’t have
    |them. I didn’t come off the topomax until my 2nd trimester. That
    |kiddo has Bell’s palsy and microtia. It could’ve been much worse. My
    |second kiddo, I recognized the pregnancy symptoms and was
    |immediately taken off the topomax (only medication that really
    |controlled them at the time) again and back on keppra then added
    |lamotrigine. They’re just fine


    |u/kandikand - 4 hours
    |
    |I take lamotrogine (as a mood stabiliser for bipolar though, not as
    |a seizure medication - no idea if the dosage is different?) and did
    |so throughout my pregnancies so it’s a relief that what I was told
    |is true.


  |u/sabbiecat - 18 hours
  |
  |Exactly, most of the prescribed seizure medication cause physical
  |birth defects too. Even the “safe” medication.


|u/giuliomagnifico - 18 hours
|
|>The current work — using data from more than three million children
|from the United Kingdom and Sweden, including 17,495 who were exposed to
|antiseizure medications during pregnancy — found that children exposed
|to the antiseizure drug lamotrigine in utero were at no additional risk
|for autism or intellectual disability compared with those exposed to
|other antiseizure medications. However, children exposed to valproate,
|topiramate, and carbamazepine were linked to specific neurodevelopmental
|issues.  >However, the absolute risk of neurodevelopmental outcomes in
|offspring is low, the researchers caution, regardless of antiseizure
|drug regimen. Compared to children unexposed to antiseizure medications,
|those exposed to the drug topiramate during pregnancy were 2.5 times
|more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disability, which raises
|their risk to 2.1% by age 12.  In comparison with other drugs available,
|the authors found very little data suggesting that the drug lamotrigine
|in pregnancy increases the risk of neurodevelopmental issues in
|offspring.  >According to the researchers, the data does not argue
|against use of antiseizure medications in patients who benefit, but
|rather encourages these patients to have a conversation with their
|doctor to determine if their course of treatment is most appropriate for
|Paper: [Antiseizure medication use during pregnancy and children’s
|neurodevelopmental outcomes | Nature
|Communications](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53813-1)


|u/ScuttleBucket - 16 hours
|
|Yep. Had to stop my Topamax when I started trying for a baby.


|u/Ginsoakedboy21 - 12 hours
|
|This has been written on the box of anti-seizure medication for the 25
|years my wife has been taking it.


|u/Umikaloo - 16 hours
|
|There mini-documentary on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
|recently where they interviewed a woman with epilepsy who was swapping
|medications in anticipation of becoming pregnant.


|u/Vegetable_Assist_736 - 4 hours
|
|Not surprising. I remember as a kid the lady who lived across the street
|from us had epilepsy and was pregnant, I imagine she couldn’t go off her
|medication throughout the pregnancy. Her baby was born with cerebral
|palsy and she never had any more kids after.


|u/Disig - 4 hours
|
|And that's one of the reasons I decided to not have children. I need my
|meds. And I don't want anyone else to suffer for it.


  |u/a_dogs_mother - 17 hours
  |
  |For someone with a seizure disorder, it's about weighing the risk of
  |serious complications from uncontrolled seizures versus the risks to
  |the fetus. If the mother dies, so will the child. However, one of the
  |antiseizure medications, lamotrigine, showed no increased risk of
  |issues.