Abstract
OBJECTIVE: in order to evaluate if an anticonvulsant can be recommended for a fertile woman with epilepsy or during their pregnancies, a review was made in the topics related to the given state to know about the changes that occur during these pregnancies which may influence the form to approach this woman in the established condition.
DEVELOPMENT: different topics related to pregnancy in the epileptic woman are reviewed, such as frequency, risks for the mother and the fetus, causes of the difficulty to maintain the control of the epilepsy, factors that influence the drug passage through the placenta, security of different anticonvulsants, mechanisms of teratogenicity, pharmacokinetic changes of the anticonvulsants and identification of fetal problems with the use of these medications during pregnancy.
CONCLUSIONS: pregnancy is generally safe in the woman with epilepsy, but the preconceptional support and near support between the neurologist and the gynecologist during the pregnancy must be assured. The adverse effect of the anticonvulsants on pregnancy that has been exposed to them has been recognized from time back but the relative risk for the fetal and maternal effects of each anticonvulsant still poorly defined.
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