PREGNANCY WITH EPILEPSY - A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

Objectives: To study the course of epilepsy in pregnancy and to assess the perinatal outcome. Method: A retrospective analysis of 219 pregna nt patients with epilepsy. The type of epilepsy, drug therapy and seiz ure frequency were documented, The perinatal outcome of 157 pregnancie s with epilepsy was analyzed and compared with that of 471 normal grav idas of similar age and parity, Results: Generalized seizures occurred in 203 patients, partial seizures in 13 patients and complex partial seizures in three patients. One hundred fifty-two patients (69.41%) we re on monotherapy. Carbamazepine was the most common drug (56.58%) use d. Ninety-five patients (43.38%) had seizures in the current pregnancy , five of whom had status epilepticus. There was no maternal mortality in status epilepticus. There was no difference in perinatal outcome b etween the study and control groups. The incidence of congenital malfo rmations was higher in the control group (5/476, 1.05%) than in the st udy group (1/160, 0.63%), The incidence of low-birth-weight babies was higher in the study group in patients with gestational seizures, Conc lusion: The course of pregnancy and perinatal outcome was not altered by epilepsy. There was no increase in the incidence of congenital malf ormations with the use of monotherapy.