An epilepsy drug that has caused at least 20,000 deformities in newborns is still being prescribed to pregnant women in the UK.
New guidelines introduced in 2018 prohibited the use of sodium valproate for women “of childbearing potential”, and yet at least 247 pregnant women have been prescribed the drug since then.
A newspaper investigation has discovered that doctors have been ignoring the guidelines, issued by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after a review had discovered that at least 20,000 children could have been born with deformities over the prior 40 years because their mothers had taken the drug.
The investigation found that women were not being told the risks, and some drugs were being sold in plain packaging without any warnings.
(Source: Sunday Times, April 17, 2022)
