Association of Folic Acid Supplementation During Pregnancy With the Risk of Autistic Traits in Children Exposed to Antiepileptic Drugs In Utero. It is recommended to prescribe folic acid during the planning of pregnancy and in the first and second trimesters. Lamotrigine serum samples were obtained from eight mother-infant pairs at different time points during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Can taking lamotrigine during my pregnancy cause birth defects? lamictal pregnancy folic acid Give origin to not clench your gerontology on and on oftentimes exclusive of directed. Bjørk M, Riedel B, Spigset O, et al. In a recent study which included seven European countries, women taking AEDs were not consistently co-prescribed high-dose folic acid in the 3 months prior to pregnancy; the rates ranged from 1.0% in Italy to 33.5% in Wales. They also note: “The result raises an intriguing question about the likely efficacy of lamotrigine in countries which fortify wheat flower with folic acid: the US programme has been estimated to provide 100–200 μg of folic acid per day in women of childbearing age. It also decreases folic acid in the body, which could increase the risk of birth defects. JAMA Neurol 2018; 75:160. Folic acid is used in the treatment of nutritional megaloblastic anaemias and prophylactically in individuals at risk of deficiency e.g. Studies in rats have shown a decrease in folic acid during pregnancy, and since this drug is a weak inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase, there is a theoretical risk of malformation due to folate deficiency.

It is unclear if this amount is sufficient to reduce the treatment effect.” Because lamotrigine can affect the way the body uses folic acid your healthcare provider might discuss taking a higher than normal dose of folic acid for at least 1 month before trying to become pregnant and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. In animal studies on Lamictal and pregnancy, large doses of the drug caused low fetal weight and slow bone development. My blood levels are taken monthly because the way Lamictal (or any medication) is absorbed in a woman's body esp. It also decreases folic acid in the body, which could increase the risk of birth defects. Information on folic acid use was collected through questionnaires during pregnancy, and blood samples to test for folate concentration levels, and AED levels were taken at gestational weeks 17 to 19 and from the umbilical cord at birth. yerby@seizures.net Erratum in Epilepsia. 1 Neural tube defects are major birth defects of a baby’s brain (anencephaly) and spine (spina bifida).A number of studies showed that taking folic acid before and during the first weeks of pregnancy helped to lower the chance of neural tube defects. Will folic acid prevent Lamotrigine causing birth defects during pregnancy? Lamictal and Pregnancy. Taking folic acid before conception significantly reduces the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, suggests a new study published today in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).. I did try Topimax, and later Vimpat(? Lamotrigine (Lamictal®) is used to treat epilepsy, sometimes in combination with other medicines. I take 4mg's of Folic acid separate and apart from what's in a pre-natal vitamin and I also take Fish Oil tablets. It said the use of folic acid supplements in early pregnancy increased sharply from 2002 to 2008 among women who participated in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Among all participants, 76 (16.7%) demonstrated adequate folic acid intake before pregnancy, 159 (34.9%) began supplementation after pregnancy, and 221 (48.5%) did not take any (Table 1). What is the Role of Folate and Folic Acid in Pregnancy? Pregnancy Category C. It would not be safe to assume that use of Folic Acid would be protective for potential side effects related to lamictal .