Seizures in Infancy in the Offspring of Women with Epilepsy

October 25, 2019

In this investigation, researchers evaluated the seizure incidence in the first year of life in infants born to mothers with epilepsy and factors contributing to the incidence of seizure.

Investigators found that seizures occurred in the progeny of 47 pregnancies by the end of a year following pregnancy (2.4%), including febrile seizures in 18, the latter rate being higher than the 0.40% and 0.59% rates recorded in the recent literature for the same situation in the general population. Infant seizures were more likely in the offspring of generalized mothers vs focal epilepsy and generalized epilepsy mothers in those who during pregnancy were not seizure-free. In infants with fetal malformations, seizures were also more likely, especially those that were not discovered until after the first postnatal month.

Such results may help to warn mothers with epilepsy about the risk that their offspring will suffer seizures in the first year of life. They also indicate the desirability of achieving maternal seizure control during pregnancy.