Epilepsy and pregnancy.

PIP: According to a London physician, women with epilepsy taking antiepileptic drugs can take combined oral contraceptives (OCs). It is usual to recommend a combined OC preparation containing at least 50 mcg of estrogen (Ovran) from patients taking enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs; this can be increased to 60 mcg by taking 2 30 mcg pills, and if necessary to 80 mcg. To ensure that ovulation is inhibited, the blood progesterone concentration can be measured on day 21 of the 1st cycle. The higher doses of estrogen should be accompanied by higher doses of progestogen. The commonest fetal malformations are cleft lip and palate and congenital heart disease, usually septal defects. These abnormalities may be caused by all the major antiepileptic drugs. Phenytoin has been particularly implicated and may cause minor defects in up to 30% of infants and major defects in about 5%. The incidence of cleft palate and heart defects with phenytoin is 1.8% compared with 0.7% in the general population. With sodium valproate, neural tube defects occur in about 1.5% of pregnancies. Present evidence suggests that carbamazepine is the safest drug. Folic acid supplements reduce the risk of neural tube defects in women at risk, therefore women taking antiepileptic drugs who are contemplating pregnancy should be given a small folic acid supplement or a diet rich in folate. To reduce the risk of bleeding in the perinatal period, pregnant women taking enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs should be given oral phytomenadione (vitamin K1) 20 mg daily for at least 1 week before delivery. Vitamin K1 should be given to the newborn immediately after delivery. Only phenobarbitone and primidone might be contraindicated for breast feeding. Mothers with uncontrolled major epilepsy should not be left alone with small children. If there is already 1 sibling with epilepsy the risk of inheriting epileptic liability rises to about 10% and if both parent have epilepsy the risk is 15-20%.^ieng

Management of epilepsy in women.

There are many aspects to the management of epilepsy in women related to their role in reproduction. Some of these need to be considered in adolescents, some are related to pregnancy, concerning both the mother and her infant, and others with the menstrual cycle and the menopause. This review considers contraception, fertility, teratogenicity, and the use of folic acid. It also discusses the special investigations in pregnancy, hyperemesis, the effect of pregnancy on the control of epilepsy, the effect of seizures on the fetus, a first fit in pregnancy, pseudoseizures, seizures during delivery, vitamin K, breast feeding, postpartum maternal epilepsy, hereditary risks, counselling, catamenial epilepsy, the menopause, and bone density.