Table 4.
Prescribing of AED/MSM in the pre- and intra-pregnancy perioda
| Year pregnancy ended | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 (%) | 2016 (%) | 2017 (%) | |
| Total number of women exposed to any AED/MSM | 1260 | 1161 | 1195 |
| Number of women exposed to lamotrigineb (% of exposure to AED/MSM) | 116 (9) | 105 (9) | 104 (9) |
| Number of women exposed to VPAb (% of exposure to AED/MSM) | 566 (45) | 544 (47) | 551 (46) |
| VPA stopped before pregnancy (% of women exposed to VPA) | 362 (64) | 330 (61) | 306 (56) |
| Pregnancy exposed to VPA (% of women exposed to VPA) | 204 (36) | 214 (39) | 245 (44) |
|
Exposed throughout pregnancy (% of pregnancies exposed) |
132 (65) | 149 (70) | 174 (71) |
| Initiated during pregnancyb (% of pregnancies exposed) | 42 (21) | 37 (17) | 42 (17) |
| Switched off during pregnancy (% of pregnancies exposed) | 30 (15) | 28 (13) | 29 (12) |
VPA sodium valproate, AED antiepileptic drug, MSM mood-stabilising medication
aThe pre- and intra-pregnancy period starts at the beginning of the calendar year before the year of delivery, and ends with delivery
bExposures to any AED/MSM are not exclusive