Epilepsy is considered a fairly serious disease, in which there is a violation of the central nervous system. Such an ailment imposes certain limitations on life in patients. For this reason, many women suffering from this disease are wondering if pregnancy and epilepsy are generally compatible. After all, everyone wants to give birth to a strong and healthy child, even despite the fact that such an unpleasant diagnosis was made.
Features of the disease
Epilepsy is characterized by convulsive seizures, which are manifested due to the strong excitability of neurons in the brain. Such seizures also begin due to a change in the electrical activity of some parts of the brain, they are accompanied by a change in consciousness and a convulsive state.
Such seizures can become traumatic for the patient, but this will depend only on the characteristics of the course of the disease. In total, in medicine it is customary to distinguish about forty types of epileptic seizures, each of which is accompanied by its own symptoms.
Treatment of such a disease is based on the use of anticonvulsants, as well as drugs aimed at reducing electrical excitability in the brain.
Currently, in most cases with well-chosen therapy, the living conditions of patients can be significantly improved, minimizing the number of such recurring epileptic seizures. However, in order for the patient to feel good, he has to use a large number of drugs, which are considered a real test for the human body.
First aid for an attack
An epilepsy attack alone is harmless to the patient if it lasts less than 2 minutes. As a rule, in such cases, epileptic seizures pass independently, which is explained by the pathogenesis of the development of the disease. It is important only to prevent possible injury to the patient, as well as to respond normally to a seizure. The provision of first aid during an attack of epilepsy boils down to the fact that the following recommendations must be observed:
- If convulsions occur, the patient may fall. In this case, it is necessary to try to maintain it so that the person does not hit his head on sharp surrounding objects or a hard floor. This is especially important if an epilepsy attack occurs on the street.
- If convulsions do not stop for more than 2 minutes, then you need to call an ambulance.
- During an attack, the patient is laid on his back, something soft must be put under his head. It is also necessary to clear the space around the patient so that he does not injure himself and others during an epileptic seizure. The neck should be freed from crushing garments. This must be done in order to maintain normal blood circulation in the brain.
- If a large amount of saliva is released during a seizure, the patient's head should be tilted to one side.
When providing first aid for epilepsy, you must also be able to control yourself. In no case should not panic, as any improper action of the environment can only provoke a worsening of the patient's condition.
Epilepsy and pregnancy: consequences
First of all, it is worth noting that epilepsy is not considered any strict contraindication for conceiving a child. Therefore, we can say that epilepsy and pregnancy are not mutually exclusive concepts. However, at present there is still no consensus as to whether it is possible to give birth to a woman if she was once given such a diagnosis.
Both pregnancy and epilepsy can be present in a woman, since this disease is not able to have any negative effect on the body of the unborn child, and is also not the reason for the development of any pathologies. However, it is worth noting that women who suffer from epileptic seizures should receive appropriate therapy on a regular basis, and anticonvulsants can have a toxic effect on the human body.
Thus, we can conclude that pregnancy and epilepsy are not mutually exclusive, but the right approach is required here. The main danger to the unborn child is not the disease of the mother, but the drugs that must be taken to contain epileptic seizures. Speaking of possible unpleasant consequences, it should be noted that the following conditions are considered absolute contraindications to conception:
- uncontrolled epileptic seizures, which women are not able to get rid of with the help of medications;
- various mental disorders against epilepsy;
- epileptic status.
In addition, generalized seizures are an absolute contraindication to conception. In this case, the risk of abortion with repeated seizures increases. This is one of the main consequences of pregnancy with epilepsy.
Epileptic status is a condition during which seizures begin one after another. With this course of the disease, a woman needs urgent hospitalization, otherwise she may fall into a coma with an attack of epilepsy, including during pregnancy.
You must also know in which cases the woman who was given this diagnosis can successfully endure and give birth to a healthy child. As a rule, there are no contraindications in those patients who have achieved stable remission with the help of medications. If attacks of epilepsy during pregnancy do not happen for a long time or they are expressed rather weakly, the chance to endure and give birth to a healthy baby increases.
Planning and preparing for conception
Before planning a pregnancy, a woman suffering from epilepsy should undergo a detailed examination of her entire body, and also consult with a specialist regarding treatment adjustment. Speaking about the planning of a child with epilepsy and pregnancy in the presence of such a disease, it is worth noting that this pathology will not affect the health of the fetus, in contrast to the medications that women take for treatment. Therefore, drugs must be replaced with more gentle, which will cause only minor side effects, and will also not adversely affect the fetal development.
Particular attention should also be paid to changing the treatment regimen for those women who took several anticonvulsants from different groups at once. In this case, therapy should be gradually adjusted in the direction of reducing their number. When changing the therapy, you also need to wait a few months and only then start planning for pregnancy. Thanks to this, you can evaluate the effectiveness of the new treatment.
It should be noted that if a woman takes any anticonvulsants, and against this background, more than two years have not been observed seizures, then treatment for pregnancy can be stopped. But in this case, it is imperative to consult with your doctor, who will carefully monitor the state of the patient’s nervous system throughout the entire period of pregnancy.
Thus, epilepsy and pregnancy are quite compatible. Planning for conception in this case should be in advance in order to prepare for such an event.
Possible unpleasant consequences
Unfortunately, pregnancy is not always successful if a woman suffers from epilepsy. Speaking about whether pregnancy is dangerous in case of epilepsy, it should be noted that the epileptic status and generalized seizures in the patient pose a special threat to the life of the fetus. For this reason, there is a risk of hypoxia, which can provoke the following intrauterine complications:
- disruption of the nervous system;
- violation of the functioning of internal organs;
- the formation of a number of neurological pathologies;
- Fading and death of the fetus.
Statistics show that generalized seizures and status epilepticus lead to the death of pregnant women in almost 15% of cases. But if the therapy of the disease allowed achieving stable remission, and seizures have been absent for two or more years, then the very fact of the existing epilepsy in the mother will not lead to the development of any intrauterine pathologies. Statistics also indicate that stillborn babies and cases of fetal fading are not associated with epilepsy in women. Only epileptic status can cause pregnancy termination.
If conception is planned, and a woman has epilepsy during pregnancy, it is necessary to consult several specialists at once. In this case, the doctor explains to the woman the features of the treatment of the disease during pregnancy, and also talks about the likely risks to the baby.
If during pregnancy a woman continues to be treated for the disease, it must be remembered that anticonvulsants can provoke the development of folic acid deficiency. For this reason, a woman, being pregnant, must take all necessary measures to compensate for the deficiency of such a substance, since its deficiency can lead to a violation of the formation of the neural tube of the fetus during pregnancy. The consequences for a child with epilepsy in a woman should also be fully taken into account.
Drugs and Pregnancy
Before planning a conception, a woman suffering from epilepsy should consult with her doctor. Due to some features of the course of pregnancy, as well as changes that occur in the female body at this time, the general condition in the third trimester may worsen. Pregnancy and childbirth with epilepsy in this case can have some complications. If a woman has not used drugs for this disease throughout the waiting period for a baby, you should consult your doctor about a possible method to improve your overall well-being in the third trimester.
If there are no attacks of epilepsy during pregnancy for a long time, you can not take medications in the first trimester, since it is at this time that the risk of negative effects of drugs on the formation of the fetus is high. However, medication can be resumed if necessary in the middle of pregnancy.
When planning a child bearing, a woman should ask doctors about the possible consequences regarding not only the child’s health, but also her own body.
Preparation for childbirth
Many people think that with epilepsy women give birth only by Caesarean section. However, it is not. Natural childbirth is not prohibited in this disease, but only if the woman has not had seizures during pregnancy. The birth process itself is a whole test for a woman’s body, therefore, a specialist must correctly assess the risk for the patient in a particular case. After this, the doctor may prescribe a cesarean section during pregnancy with epilepsy. Reviews of women who suffer from this disease indicate that most of them themselves expressed a desire to give birth using Caesarean section, as they had uncertainty about natural childbirth.
As for anesthesia, choosing it, experts recommend the use of epidural analgesia, since it is one of the most sparing.
Postpartum period
A woman who has been diagnosed with epilepsy can breast-feed her baby after pregnancy, despite taking antiepileptic drugs (with the exception of benzodiazepines). Studies have shown that the child gets into the body the minimum amount of the drug, which is very quickly excreted. In this case, the baby is recommended to be fed in a prone position. If an attack occurs during a woman’s procedure, this will protect the child from injuries.
In general, the postpartum period and caring for a woman at this time do not have any special conventions and differences. Experts recommend that someone close to the patient be located, especially if she has seizures.
Pregnancy Epilepsy Treatment
When correcting and prescribing the usual treatment regimens for epilepsy in women during pregnancy, the following rules must be observed:
- In no case should you stop the treatment of the disease. Perhaps the doctor will review the list of medications, but will not completely allow a woman to refuse drugs. Otherwise, the woman's risk of developing an epileptic status increases.
- It is also necessary to avoid the appointment of several antiepileptic drugs at once, since they can have a negative effect on the development of the fetus. If a patient accepts two or more names for treatment at once, then this risk doubles.
- A woman should observe a certain load regime, since physical stress can only provoke epileptic seizures.
During pregnancy, specialists allow women to take the following medications:
- Phenobarbital.
- Valproic acid.
- "Diphenin."
- Depakin.
- Keppra.
Taking these medications also does not preclude regular electroencephalography, as well as determining the concentration of drugs in the blood of the patient.
How babies are born
Statistics show that 95 percent of women who suffer from epilepsy give birth to healthy babies. If children have any congenital malformations, then in most cases they can be corrected with surgical intervention. Signs such as respiratory distress, drowsiness, problems with breastfeeding, are considered only a child's reaction to the medications taken by her mother. As a rule, such phenomena take place for several days after the baby is born.
Disease Prevention
In order to prevent the development of epilepsy in expectant mothers, there are no methods. Prevention standards can only be relevant if the causes of the disease are known. In the case of epilepsy, the main factors in the development of this ailment are still considered officially unknown. Perhaps the main discoveries in this field of medicine are yet to come.
It is also worth remembering the genetic predisposition to this disease, since epilepsy can be inherited.