Study finds epilepsy drug to be safe during pregnancy

New research indicates that use of the epilepsy drug lamotrigine during pregnancy does not increase the risk of birth malformations or neurodevelopmental disorders. The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology study provides the most extensive long-term report regarding children whose mothers took lamotrigine while pregnant.

The study included the children of 83 epileptic women treated with lamotrigine during pregnancy at a tertiary medical center between 2004 and 2014. All newborns were monitored and parents completed a questionnaire regarding their child's development and health up to the age of 12 years.

"The results of this study are good news for both pregnant epileptic women and their children, as well as their treating neurologists," said co-author Dr. Itai Berger, of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, in Jerusalem.