Pregnant Women With Epilepsy at Risk for Premature Birth, Preeclampsia, Maternity Death & Other Pregnancy Complications

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According to a recent study, epilepsy has been shown to be linked to different health complications, and pregnant women who have this condition have a higher risk of dying during childbirth.

The study, published in JAMA Neurology, also notes that pregnant women with epilepsy are more likely to suffer from other pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia (pregnancy high blood pressure), preterm labor, stillbirth, prolonged hospital stay and potential cesarean delivery. While only a small percent of women who have epilepsy get pregnant, about 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent of them are more at risk of dying from such complications.

MedPage Today lists additional pregnancy complications such as antepartum hemorrhage, severe postpartum hemorrhage, fetal abnormality and poor fetal growth.

"While the absolute risk is still quite small, this was very surprising and couldn't have really been predicted from the smaller data sets that are more commonly presented in the literature," Sarah MacDonald of Boston's Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health said via the outlet.

"We would argue you don't necessarily need a doubling of a risk to be an important outcome," she added.

In the study, the researchers analyzed hospital records of pregnant women from 2007 to 2011 nationwide. Out of more than 4 million data, there were 14,151 women with epilepsy recorded.

Speaking to Health Day, MacDonald said there were 80 deaths per hundred thousand women with epilepsy and only six deaths per hundred thousand women who do not have the condition.

The research did not state, however, that epilepsy increased the risk of dying during gestation, but only heightened during childbirth. The reason why there is an increased risk of death and complications is also unknown.

"While future work is needed to clarify the particular role of anti-epileptic medication on obstetric risks, our work is meaningful in that it highlights a vulnerable patient population," said MacDonald.

Further research needs to be conducted as to what causes the increased mortality rates in pregnant women with epilepsy. The authors also intend to find out if certain interventions can help in preventing deaths and complications.

"Regardless of the specific cause, the point that women recorded as having epilepsy have an increased risk of mortality remains a clinically relevant message suggesting that increased attention should be paid," the authors said.

In a report by Philly, MacDonald regards pregnant women with epilepsy as high risk cases and advises constant monitoring throughout their term.