Purple Day & Epilepsy: Top 10 Considerations for a Safe Pregnancy
Epilepsy awareness and the first trimester
March 26, marks Purple Day or Epilepsy Awareness Day. People all over the world will be raising awareness about epilepsy, a disease often kept under wraps for fear of being ostracized and lack of understanding.
For women of child-bearing years who have epilepsy, another concern must also be made known -- anticonvulsant drugs raise the risk of birth defects in mothers-to-be who take these drugs during their first trimester.
If you are a woman trying to getting pregnant, please:
- Talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner now about the safest anticonvulsant medications to prevent birth defects like cleft palate and cleft lip in newborns.
- Ask your neurologist if you can be on only one anticonvulsant drug instead of two or multiple drugs in the same class.
- Keep a seizure diary or journal to write down what triggers your seizures.
- Join a pregnancy support group for women with epilepsy.
- Develop healthy prenatal habits such as to stop smoking or drinking if you do; eat a healthy balanced diet; take folic acid, and get plenty of rest. Pamper yourself.
- Sign up for the voluntary Epilepsy Birth Control Registry (privacy guaranteed and you can opt out at any time). Women with epilepsy have special concerns when selecting birth control methods. The registry works to help women with epilepsy make better choices in regard to safer birth control methods.
- Tell your doctor or nurse practitioner about all the medications, supplements, and over-the-counter drugs you’re taking. Ask them to review the FDA Pregnancy Drug Category to ensure you’re not taking anything that could harm the fetus.
- Don’t stop taking any anti-seizure medication unless under the care of your doctor. Stopping medication may induce more seizures. Your OB/GYN and neurologist should be collaborating on your behalf.
- Paint your baby’s room purple!
- Educate yourself about Topamax (generic topiramate). The drug has been available in the United States since 1996. On March 4, 2011, the Food & Drug Administration announced that pregnant women taking Topamax during their first trimester had twice the risk for cleft palate and cleft lip birth defects.
Out of the mouths of babes: Purple Day was founded in 2008, by Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada. At only 9-years-old, along with the help of the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia (EANS), Cassidy chose purple as the international color for epilepsy. The lavender flower is frequently associated with solitude and people with epilepsy often feel isolated. Cassidy's goal is for people with epilepsy to know they are not alone and to educate others about epilepsy.
To learn more about Cassidy and Global Purple Day Partners EANS and The Anita Kaufmann Foundation (AKFUS), please visit the Purple Day about page.
The Topamax lawyers at Anapol Schwartz personal injury law firm can help the babies of families adversely affected by this anti seizure drug and can help obtain compensation for injuries and medical expenses. Anapol Schwartz has offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Arizona.
Michael Monheit
Anapol Schwartz
1-866-735-2792
mmonheit@anapolschwartz.com
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