{"id":411,"date":"2010-06-16T13:10:34","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T19:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cerebral-palsy-medicalmalpractice.com\/blog\/?p=411"},"modified":"2010-06-16T13:10:34","modified_gmt":"2010-06-16T19:10:34","slug":"epilepsy-drug-connected-to-major-birth-defects-in-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerebral-palsy-medicalmalpractice.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/epilepsy-drug-connected-to-major-birth-defects-in-babies.html","title":{"rendered":"Epilepsy Drug Connected To Major Birth Defects In Babies"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

The epilepsy drug valproic acid, when taken by expectant mothers in their\u00a0first trimester, has been\u00a0linked to birth defects in\u00a0the brain, heart and\u00a0arms of newborns, according to a new study.<\/p>\r\n

http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/hsn\/20100609\/hl_hsn\/epilepsydruglinkedtoseriousbirthdefects<\/a><\/p>\r\n

For example, babies whose moms took valproic acid , whose brand names include Depakene and Depakote,\u00a0were\u00a0almost seven\u00a0 times more likely to suffer\u00a0with craniosyostosis, which is a fusion of the skull\u00a0when the fetus is still in the womb. That fusion put hinders skull and brain development.<\/p>\r\n

In terms of other birth\u00a0\u00a0defects, mothers who took valproic acid during the first three months of their pregnancy\u00a0incresed their odds, by 12.7\u00a0 times, of\u00a0 having a\u00a0baby with spina bifida, which is when the spinal cord and backbone don’t develop properly, compared to women who didn’t take the drug.<\/p>\r\n

Newborns whose mothers took valproic acid\u00a0were also five times more likely to have a cleft palate;\u00a0\u00a02.5 times more likely to have the athrial septal heart defect; and more than two times as likely to have an extra finger on their hand.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Those statistics have to be put in\u00a0context. Even though there is a higher risk of birth defects for children of\u00a0 mothers who took the anti-seizure medication,\u00a0that risk overall is not huge. In the case of spina bifida, the risk went from 0.6 percent, or six in 1,000, compared with\u00a00.5, or five in 1,000, for children whose mother’s hadn’t taken the anti-sezure medication.<\/p>\r\n

Scientists are\u00a0advising\u00a0women of childbearing age to find a substitute drug to ward off seizures.<\/p>\r\n

The study was published\u00a0in The New England\u00a0 Journal of\u00a0 Medicine.<\/p>\r\n

http:\/\/content.nejm.org\/cgi\/content\/abstract\/362\/23\/2185<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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The epilepsy drug valproic acid, when taken by expectant mothers in their\u00a0first trimester, has been\u00a0linked to birth defects in\u00a0the brain, heart and\u00a0arms of newborns, according to a new study. http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/s\/hsn\/20100609\/hl_hsn\/epilepsydruglinkedtoseriousbirthdefects For example, babies whose moms took valproic acid , whose brand names include Depakene and Depakote,\u00a0were\u00a0almost seven\u00a0 times more likely to suffer\u00a0with craniosyostosis, which is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[16,24,428,426,427,4,5],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brain-injury","tag-brain-injury-attorney","tag-depakene-and-brain-damage","tag-depakote-and-birth-defects","tag-depakote-and-brain-damage","tag-medical-malpractice","tag-medical-malpractice-attorney"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t