Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional steps have been taken to ensure that medical professionals are equipped to provide awareness of the risk of physical and neurodevelopmental harm to a baby associated with the use of many anti-epileptic drugs taken in pregnancy, specifically when providing such information via digital consultations and telemedicine.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ensures that information is available electronically to support discussions between medical professionals and women and girls on the risk of physical and neurodevelopmental harm to babies born to mothers who take epilepsy medicines during pregnancy. Healthcare professionals have been reminded of their responsibility to inform women and girls of the risks of valproate specifically through letters from the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers and Chief Pharmaceutical Officers and by articles in the MHRA’s electronic bulletin Drug Safety Update.

On 6 May 2020 the MHRA published guidance for specialists to support adherence to the pregnancy prevention requirements for women of childbearing potential taking valproate during the pandemic, particularly patients who are shielding due to other health conditions. This included guidance on annual review of patients using digital consultations.