Management of pregnant women with epilepsy remains poor

To assess the outcomes of pregnancy in women with epilepsy and effectiveness of preconceptional counselling and control of epilepsy Fairgrieve et al interviewed 300 women with epilepsy who had had a pregnancy in 1997-8 in the Northern region (p 674). They found that most were looked after by their general practitioner, had continuing seizures, and complied incompletely with their medication. Less than half had received counselling or planned their pregnancies. Malformations were commoner than in the background population. The authors conclude that guidelines for the care of women with epilepsy are not being followed and that they should be targeted at general practitioners, not neurologists.

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Relevant Article

Population based, prospective study of the care of women with epilepsy in pregnancy

Susan D Fairgrieve, Margaret Jackson, Patricia Jonas, David Walshaw, Kathleen White, Tara L Montgomery, John Burn, and Sally A Lynch
BMJ 2000 321: 674-675. [Full Text] [PDF]