Abstract

ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUG SAFETY IN PREGNACY: - POSSIBLE DANGERS FOR THE PREGNANT WOMEN AND HER FOETUS

Aditya Shrivastava*, Aastha Singh, Arihant Kasliwal, Adesh Ameta, Neha Kamalpuria

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy is the common chronic neurological disorder which affects four to ten people per thousand. The affected people include most of women of child bearing age and women require long term treatment with AEDs drug. When the patient takes antiepileptic drugs, safety related matter arises in pregnant women. These may include safety of both women and their foetus. Drug doses should also be managed or balanced that the AEDs could not get metabolised or excreted from the body. If AEDs are consumed for long duration, the body becomes habitual to the drug and creates resistance to it. Therefore, the dose or dosages should increase or changed. Some AEDs may affect foetus due to the exposure of drug to intrauterine. The infant will also get affected and born with some disorder like lower IQ values and outism spectrum disorder etc. This article reviews about Epilepsy, AEDs effect on pregnant women and foetus and safety precautions to be taken.

Keywords: AEDs (Antiepileptic drugs), epilepsy autism spectrum, disorder neurological.