Newer Epilepsy Meds Safe During Pregnancy, Wont Affect Kids Neurodevelopment [Video]

Key Takeaways

There’s reassuring news for women with epilepsy: Taking newer antiseizure medications while pregnant won’t harm your childKids born to moms who took these meds while pregnant had no language delays at age 6Controlling seizures in pregnancy is important to the health of the fetus as well, experts note

MONDAY, Dec. 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For decades, it’s been known that certain older medications women use to control epilepsy seizures can pose risks to a fetus.

However, data now suggests that no such risk exists for newer-generation anti-seizure meds.

“We need to balance making sure there is enough medicine on board to protect the mother and her developing fetus from seizures, but not too much where we’re creating risk for the child,” explained study co-lead investigator Dr. Kimford Meador, a professor of neurology at Stanford University.

Older medications such as valproatehave been strongly linked to birth defects and cognitive issues in offspring. So, women with epilepsy have long been …