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Rachel Merrick: New Insights on Pregnancy Loss Linked to Anti-Seizure Drugs

Rachel Merrick/LinkedIn

Dec 26, 2025, 07:18

Rachel Merrick: New Insights on Pregnancy Loss Linked to Anti-Seizure Drugs

Rachel Merrick, Epidemiologist at IQVIA, shared a post on LinkedIn about a paper published in Communications Medicine:

“New publication on outcomes of anti-seizure medicines use in pregnancy.

This study was conducted by my fantastic former colleagues at Public Health Scotland in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde. We studied over 900,000 pregnancies between 2010 and 2023, comparing outcomes among women who did, and did not, receive anti-seizure medicines in pregnancy. We found valproate, pregabalin, and gabapentin were linked to pregnancy loss (including miscarriage) and developmental concerns in children aged 2-3 years. Valproate was also linked to major structural conditions, such as congenital heart disease, in babies.

An apt example of how we can use existing data to answer important public health questions and support informed decision-making in pregnancy.”

Title: Pregnancy, baby, and childhood outcomes from using anti-seizure medication during pregnancy

Authors: Emily Moore, Morven Millar, Rachel Merrick, Tanja Mueller, Victoria Stark, Lynne Jarvis, Amanj Kurdi, Leanne Hopkins, Stuart McTaggart, Rute Vieira, Marion Bennie, Rachael Wood

Read the full article. Rachel Merrick