Ministers must order an “immediate fix” to prevent “avoidable harm” from a drug linked to health problems for children when taken by women during pregnancy, a former health secretary has said. Jeremy Hunt said anti-epilepsy drug sodium valproate - which has been linked to physical malformations, autism and developmental delay in many children when it is taken by their mothers while pregnant - is “a major risk to patient safety” as he called for it to be banned from being given to this group.
A review published in 2020 estimated 20,000 Britons had been affected after being exposed to the drug as developing babies. At that time, the review said “hundreds” of babies were still being born each year to mothers taking it who were unaware of the risks.
According to the latest figures, 222 pregnant women were exposed to sodium valproate in the period 2018/21, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said. They said rates of exposure have been declining since the Pregnancy Prevention Programme was introduced, and rates in 2020/21 are “substantially lower”.
