How Epilepsy And Pregnancy Can Be Dealt Together

Pregnancy can have a lot of complications in it especially if the one who is pregnant is already suffering from some or the other disease. So, after becoming pregnant, one needs to become more careful.

Pregnancy means the mother will be going through a lot of physical and mental changes and for that one needs to see an experienced health care expert so that they can advise on what to do and what not to do during pregnancy. There are also some women who face depression and other mental issues during pregnancy. They are prescribed with some medicine for neurological disorders during pregnancy by the neurological experts and one can follow their advice to get good results.

But if one suffers from epilepsy during pregnancy, then it can raise some serious issues. Though most women who suffer from epilepsy deliver healthy babies but they have to take special care of themselves when they are pregnant.

So, how can epilepsy affect pregnancy? Well, seizures during pregnancy can cause:

• Decreased oxygen supply to the foetus.
• Slows down the heart rate of the foetus.
• Preterm labour.
• Premature birth.
• Premature separation of the placenta from the uterus which can lead to foetal injury along with miscarriage.

Every woman’s body react in a different way when they become pregnant. But in most pregnant women who have epilepsy the seizures actually remain the same. In case of few the seizures can be a bit left frequent. But if a woman remains sleep deprived in pregnancy, and if they do not take proper medicines then it can increase the frequency of seizures.

Medication in epilepsy

The medications of epilepsy that one takes during pregnancy can affect the baby inside. There can be birth defects in the baby like neural tube effects, cleft palate, skeletal abnormalities and urinary tract defects. The risk of these defects also increases with higher doses of the medication and if one takes more than one anti seizure medication. If one does not face seizure for a couple of months before they conceive then there are is ales chance that they will have one during pregnancy. If one had faced no seizures in the last 2-3 years then they can stop the medication when they conceive. But before continuing any medication, one needs to ask their doctors.

In case of most women it is a good idea to continue treatment even during pregnancy. This can minimise the risk for both the mother and the baby.  In fact, to minimise the risk the doctor will always advise safest epilepsy medication pregnancy which will be effective on seizures and monitor the blood level of the body as well.

If the mother does not go for epilepsy medication then the baby can get the habit of getting seizures when they grow up. So, when one has epilepsy; it is a good idea to go and see a doctor and get proper advice before getting pregnant. One should follow what the doctors tell them.