About 20,000 babies in the UK are believed to have been left with disabilities since the introduction of sodium valproate in the 1970s Getty ImagesMore than two thirds of women with epilepsy who take a powerful drug that can cause birth defects are not warned about its risks, according to new research. Campaigners said that thousands of babies would continue to be born with disabilities unless officials stepped up efforts to educate mothers-to-be. Sodium valproate, also known as Epilim, carries a ten per cent risk of physical abnormalities in unborn babies, and a 40 per cent risk of developing problems such as autism, low IQ or learning disabilities. Around 20,000 babies in the UK are believed to have been left with disabilities since its introduction in the 1970s. For some women with epilepsy, sodium valproate is the only drug that will control their seizures, leaving medics with a difficult…

Source: The Times September 22, 2017 11:03 UTC