Use of Anti-Seizure Drug Depakote (Valporate) During Pregnancy May Not Be Worth Risks to Fetus, Study Says

Drugs such as Depakote (valproate) used to prevent pregnant women from suffering seizures brought on by epilepsy and other disorders may be causing more seizures than the conditions they are designed to treat, new research suggests.

Researchers from Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway studied the outcomes of more than 2,800 delivers by women with epilepsy and compared the results to more than 369,000 deliveries by women without the seizure disorder.

Just over two-thirds of the women with epilepsy did not take Depakote or phenobarbital, another sedative sometimes used to prevent seizures, according to a Reuters news report on the study.

Higher Birth Defect Rates Detected

The researchers found that babies born to mothers with and without epilepsy had nearly identical rates of major birth defects, including those of the heart and lungs. About one in 40 births had some form of the defects, the study found.

But among women who had taken Depakote during pregnancy, the study found a higher rate of birth defects, about six percent. Birth defects of the heart were particularly common, the research team said. Women who had epilepsy but did not treat the condition during pregnancy had a higher rate of birth defects involving the genitals and of the form of mental retardation called Down syndrome than other women, according to the study.

Overall, the study’s authors said the rates of complications and birth defects were lower than found in previous studies. This may be evidence of doctors switching pregnant women from Depakote and similar anti-seizure drugs to safer medications and further proof that women are more likely to take folic acid during pregnancy. Folic acid has been shown to prevent many birth defects.

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