Ann Wills

Daily Mail 18.4.22   “EPILEPSY DRUG THAT DEFORMS BABIES STILL GIVEN TO WOMEN” by Victoria Allen, Science Correspondent.

Pills for epilepsy that can cause autism, spina bifida & deformities in babies are still being prescribed by NHS to pregnant women. The drug, sodium valproate, is believed to have caused abnormalities in some 20,000 babies.  The scandal has been compared to morning-sickness drug thalidomide, which caused over 20,000 babies to be born with missing & short limbs from 1957-1962.   2 years after a damning report on sodium valproate (S.V), a Sunday Times investigation revealed the drug is still being given to patients, without warning labels.  Latest NHS figures show 247 pregnant women were prescribed S.V between April 2018 & Sept 2021.  It’s estimated that up to 40% of children exposed to S.V in the womb can have difficulties with learning, attention, language & social skills.   Catherine McNamara, asked about the safety of continuing to take S.V when she was pregnant with her 4^th child after 2 of her older children were born with learning difficulties & autism, which she feared was linked to the drug.  She said “My GP said just keep taking the tablets & don’t worry, as did my consultant.”  Her son was born in 2012 with deformed hands, misaligned hips, scoliosis & a shoulder bone that hadn’t fused.  She found when he was 5 days old that this was linked to S.V. “It’s very hard knowing my children’s problems could have been prevented.”   Families are calling for compensation as regulators knew the risks of sodium valproate in pregnancy from 1973, but it wasn’t until 2015 that clear warnings were published.

Ann