Will the medication for epilepsy harm my child?

Epilepsy drugs increase the risk of malformations in the unborn child about three times. Particularly when taking classic antiepileptic drugs (valproic acid, carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin), malformations of the face and finger ends, growth retardation during pregnancy and developmental disorders of the central nervous system occur more frequently. For example, every 5th to 10th child who has taken these drugs during pregnancy is affected by at least one of these abnormalities.

There is not yet sufficient data on the newer antiepileptic drugs, except for lamotrigine (see above), to be able to assess the risk. After birth, the newborn baby may still experience after-effects of the drugs in the course of a few months.The calming effect of many medications can last up to a week and can be noticeable in the child through drowsiness, weakness in drinking and reduced muscle tension. Withdrawal symptoms can last from a few days to several months and can include frequent crying, severe agitation, vomiting, diarrhea or increased muscle tension. In addition, a reduced head circumference of the newborn is often observed, especially after taking Primidone and Phenobarbital.

Malformations

Malformations of varying degrees of the child in pregnant women with epilepsy are two to three times more common than in the average population. The so-called “large” malformations in children are heart defects, cleft lip and palate and spina bifida (cleft back). These malformations are usually due to antiepileptic therapy and the nature of the seizures during pregnancy. In order to avoid malformations, a therapy should be sought before pregnancy which both prevents seizures in the expectant mother and has the least possible damaging effect on the child.

Will an epileptic seizure harm my child?

It is not yet clear whether seizures during pregnancy are harmful to the unborn child. Serious injuries to the mother caused by a seizure are very likely to pose a danger to the child, especially if they are in the abdominal region. Also long lasting seizures have a negative effect on the unborn child.

During these seizures the heart rate of the child drops, which can lead to a lack of oxygen. Especially the status epilepticus, i.e. a seizure that lasts longer than five minutes or several seizures that occur at short intervals in succession, can be life-threatening for mother and child. However, this occurs very rarely during pregnancy and if emergency therapy is started quickly, it rarely leads to an abortion.