Can you take seizure meds when pregnant?
Medication you take during pregnancy can affect your baby. Birth defects — including cleft palate, neural tube defects, skeletal abnormalities, and congenital heart and urinary tract defects — are a few potential side effects associated with anti-seizure medications.
Which antiepileptic is safest in pregnancy?
A review of the risks of major congenital malformations and of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes for antiepileptic drugs by the Commission on Human Medicines has confirmed that lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra) are the safer of the medicines reviewed during pregnancy.
Is Lacosamide safe in pregnancy?
Lacosamide is listed in Pregnancy Category C. This means that caution is advised, but the benefits of the medicine may outweigh the potential risks. Talk to your health care providers if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
Is lacosamide a narcotic?
VIMPAT is a federally controlled substance (CV) because it can be abused or lead to drug dependence. Keep your VIMPAT in a safe place, to protect it from theft.
Can epilepsy cause birth defects?
In women with epilepsy treated with seizure medications, the risk of birth defects is increased to 6.1% on average, based on currently available data. The most common malformations associated with exposure to seizure medications in utero are cardiac (heart) malformations.
How does epilepsy affect pregnancy?
How epilepsy may affect your pregnancy: A seizure during pregnancy can injure you or your baby. During a seizure, the level of oxygen to your baby may decrease. This may cause brain or organ damage. A seizure may also cause preterm labor, preterm birth, or miscarriage. Epilepsy medicine increases the risk for birth defects.
What causes seizures while pregnant?
Seizures can be caused by a blow to the head, an infection (meningitis, encephalitis), drug or alcohol toxicity, high fever, eclampsia (a condition in pregnant women), missed medication, strokes, heart attacks, complications of kidney disease, diabetes or brain tumors.
Is epilepsy during pregnancy normal?
Epilepsy during Pregnancy. The combination of epilepsy and pregnancy is extremely risky; however, most women who have epilepsy during pregnancy can deliver healthy babies just like a normal pregnancy. Epilepsy or seizures are a common occurrence in women of the reproductive age affecting approximately 600,000 people in the UK.