The Minister for Health has committed to holding an inquiry into the historical licensing and use of anti-epilepsy medication Epilim by pregnant woman. Campaigners had pushed for an inquiry to be set up to examine why mothers were not appropriately warned of the risks of taking the drug while pregnant until recent years. “Parents and children impacted by sodium valproate have been fighting for many years for an inquiry into the licensing and use of this drug,” he said. Despite studies since the late 1980s showing significantly increased risks of foetal malformations where pregnant women took sodium valproate, women of child-bearing age were not warned until recent years. The decision to commit to an independent inquiry followed a recent meeting between Mr Donnelly, the campaign group OACS, and Epilepsy Ireland.

Source: The Irish Times November 24, 2020 16:28 UTC