A mother of twin girls is determined to educate women about the risks involved with taking medication for epilepsy whole pregnant. Denise Astill’s daughters both have anticonvulsant syndrome because of a drug Mrs. Astill took to treat her condition while she was pregnant.

“A lot of women don’t realise that anticonvulsant medication can affect a fetus, and there are certain types of medication that are more problematic. It’s not advised to stop cold turkey, but there are safer medications to be on in pregnancy”, she said.

Mrs. Astill and her husband sought advice from doctors before she got pregnant, but she says the advice she received over nine years ago wouldn’t be the same as the advice given now. At the time, the doctor told her that her medication would lead to an increased risk for the unborn child to develop spina bifida or neural tube defects, but that taking folic acid would reduce this risk. He also told her that if she stopped taking the medicine completely, that she should have more seizures and that her baby would be deprived of oxygen.

Mrs. Astill says women should speak with a neurologist before considering pregnancy, saying that it can be a long and drawn-out process to begin taking a new drug, since you won’t know how it will affect your body until you start taking it.