Are women with epilepsy more likely to have children with birth defects?
No woman, of course, is guaranteed a healthy baby when she becomes pregnant, and the risk of fetal malformation in a healthy population in the United States is 2 to 3 percent. For women with epilepsy on medication, the risk is increased two-fold. The increased risk is due both to the seizures and to the medications that we use to treat seizures. But, more than 95 percent of women who have epilepsy can have routine pregnancies and deliver very healthy children. The goal for a woman with epilepsy is to not have seizures during pregnancy and to be on the lowest dose of medication possible. It’s really a matter of weighing the risks and benefits both to the pregnant mother and the unborn fetus. What is the relationship between menopause and epilepsy? It’s been shown that many women with epilepsy have early menopause. The average age of menopause in this country is between 51 and 52 years. For women with very frequent seizures, the age of menopause can be as early as 47. Seizures can change
