Hesperian Health Guides
Pregnancy and epilepsy
HealthWiki > Epilepsy and Seizures > Chapter 7: Pregnancy and birth with epilepsy > Pregnancy and epilepsy
Pregnancy affects people with epilepsy in different ways. Some people have fewer seizures during pregnancy. Others have seizures triggered by the physical and mental changes that pregnancy causes. Antiseizure medicine that is safe for you and your baby can help make your pregnancy seizure free.
Mental health, pregnancy, and epilepsy. Feelings of anxiety, stress about becoming a parent, and worries about a baby’s health are all common experiences during pregnancy. These emotions can trigger seizures for some people. Insomnia (trouble sleeping), common during pregnancy, is also a common seizure trigger.
Epilepsy may affect a pregnancy. Someone who has well-controlled epilepsy and rarely has seizures may have a pregnancy that progresses with no extra risks for themself or their baby. Absence seizures or other seizures that do not include loss of consciousness or falling pose no risk to pregnancy. Risks are higher for people whose seizures are not well-controlled, especially when their seizures involve falling.
People with epilepsy may have a higher chance of getting pre-eclampsia or giving birth too early (before 37 weeks of pregnancy). These risks can be lowered by good prenatal care.
Getting ready for pregnancy
Most pregnancies are unplanned. In a perfect world, your pregnancy would happen when you feel physically, emotionally, and financially ready for it and have the family and social support everyone needs during pregnancy and after birth. If you are controlling your seizures with medicines, planning also gives you time to change or adjust your medicine to make your pregnancy healthier and safer. For more information, see “Pregnancy and antiseizure medicines”.
Talk with a health worker about any medicines you use, including antiseizure medicines, and how often you have seizures, what kind they are, and if you have ever been hurt during a seizure. Together, you can make a plan to keep you and your baby safe.
If a pregnancy is unexpected
If you find out you are pregnant and want to continue the pregnancy, talk with a health worker or midwife as soon as possible about how to have a healthy pregnancy. If you need to change your antiseizure medicine, beginning that process right away will promote better seizure control and a healthier pregnancy. A health worker can also help you to adjust your medicine dose, if needed, and work with you to make a plan for what to do if you have a seizure during your pregnancy.
If you do not want to continue the pregnancy, talk to a health worker or midwife about how to end the pregnancy with safe abortion. Abortion is safe when done with the proper medicines, and with support from an experienced accompanier, or by a trained health worker, depending on the type of abortion.
Abortion may be always legal or only sometimes legal, depending on where you live. Getting advice from a trusted health worker or community member who knows local laws and how to support you can help you make an informed decision and have a better experience.
For more information about abortion, scan the QR code to access Hesperian’s Safe Abortion mobile application.