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Download the latest press releases and media assets for the Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium (EPMC).

Postpartum Care

Learn about postpartum care, including considerations for breastfeeding, safety, sleep, and managing your seizures to support the health of you and your baby.

Tapering Anti-Seizure Medication

Learn why you may need a higher dosage of your anti-seizure medication during pregnancy and how to create a plan with your care team to taper back down to your pre-pregnancy dose after delivery.

Labor & Delivery with Epilepsy

Learn how to create a plan for managing safety and seizure control during labor and delivery.

Pregnancy Monitoring of Anti-Seizure Medication

Learn about why you may need to adjust your anti-seizure medication dose during pregnancy, and how you can work with your doctor to monitor your medication levels to maintain seizure stability.

Pregnancy Management

Learn how to work with your care team to manage your pregnancy by monitoring and adjusting anti-seizure medications in order to maintain seizure stability and support the health of you and your baby.

Switching Anti-Seizure Medications

Learn which anti-seizure medications pose a higher risk during pregnancy and things to know about switching ASMs before becoming pregnant.

Choosing an Obstetrician for Pregnancy Care

Learn how to choose an obstetrician that can help with epilepsy, the difference between an OB and a gynecologist, and the type of care you can expect from an OB-GYN.

Your Epilepsy Care Team

Learn what an epilepsy care team is, who it should include, and how to build an effective one to help manage and support you throughout your full pregnancy journey.

Planning Your Pregnancy

Learn why planning for pregnancy is important for people with epilepsy and how to do so.

Your Epilepsy Diagnosis

Learn about the importance of confirming an epilepsy diagnosis before becoming pregnant so that you can create a plan that supports the health of you and your baby.

Postpartum Safety & Support

Learn what you need to do to plan the safety of you and your baby after birth, including secure at-home sleeping, carrying, feeding, and changing

Heredity & Epilepsy

Learn about the hereditary characteristics of epilepsy, the low chances of passing it to your child, and the possibility of genetic counseling.

Epilepsy & Unplanned Pregnancy

Learn what to do for an unplanned pregnancy, including monitoring and/or adjusting your anti-seizure medication and taking folic acid to support the health of you and your baby.

Folic Acid & Other Vitamin Supplements

Learn about the importance of folic acid and other vitamin supplements to support a healthy pregnancy for people with epilepsy.

Epilepsy & Birth Control

Learn how choosing the right birth control is important for sexually active people with epilepsy due to the effects that anti-seizure medications can have on different methods.

Anti-Seizure Medications & Child Outcomes

Learn more about how certain anti-seizure medications can affect child development and how switching your ASMs prior to pregnancy can support your baby's health.

Breastfeeding & Epilepsy

Learn how breastfeeding can be safe for people with epilepsy and where you can get support on choosing the right feeding method for you and your baby.

Anti-Seizure Medications & Pregnancy

Learn about the safety and suitability of different anti-seizure medications during pregnancy.

Seizure Stability & Pregnancy

Learn about maintaining seizure stability during pregnancy, changes to your anti-seizure medication, and what to do if you have a seizure while pregnant.

Fertility & Epilepsy

Research shows fertility is not affected by epilepsy. Explore fertility treatment options and see how your care team can support you in becoming pregnant.

Planning for a Safe Postpartum Period

Learn how to safely care for your baby and yourself and ease your worries about what will happen after you give birth.

Having a Safe Pregnancy & Delivery

Learn how someone with epilepsy, working closely with their healthcare team, can have a healthy pregnancy and safely deliver their baby.

Planning for a Safe & Healthy Pregnancy

Learn how, with careful planning, people with epilepsy can have safe, healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.

Living with Epilepsy

Whether you are newly diagnosed or have been living with epilepsy for years, learn how to manage your epilepsy, which is especially important if you are planning to get pregnant.

Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium clinician Dr. Thomas F. McElrath, associate professor, Harvard Medical School, focuses on obstetrics and gynecology, including epilepsy and seizure disorder in pregnancy.

Page Pennell, MD

Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium clinician Dr. Page B. Pennell chairs Neurology at Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She has conducted groundbreaking research on managing epilepsy while pregnant or breastfeeding, including the MONEAD study.

Elizabeth Gerard, MD

Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium clinician Dr. Elizabeth E. Gerard is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and an epileptologist and clinical neurophysiologist at Northwestern Medicine.

Alison Pack, MD, MPH

Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium clinician Dr. Alison M. Pack is the Chief, Division of Epilepsy and Sleep at Columbia University. She has conducted research on contraceptive use in women with epilepsy and neurodevelopmental effects of antiepileptic drugs.

Expert Guidance for Epilepsy & Pregnancy Care

Learn more about the Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium (EPMC), which provides expert insights on pregnancy care for people with epilepsy, from prenatal planning to postnatal support.

Explore the Research

Explore Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium’s collection of clinicial research used to inform best practices.

Epilepsy & Pregnancy Tools and Resources

Download, print, and share these epilepsy and pregnancy tools to help plan for a successful pregnancy.

The Pregnancy Journey

Learn about how people with epilepsy can have safe, healthy pregnancies and healthy babies

Epilepsy & Pregnancy

Learn about how people with epilepsy can have safe, healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.

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Expert Panel Provides Updated Data for Epilepsy and Pregnancy

BOSTON, MA, Oct 12, 2023 – The Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium, an expert panel of leading epileptologists and OB-GYN researchers/practitioners, announced updated best practice recommendations for people with epilepsy who are considering pregnancy, are pregnant, or are postpartum. These new best practices are based on the findings of the groundbreaking study Maternal Outcomes and […]