Letter to women and girls taking sodium valproate (14 June)

Summary

Sodium Valproate is a treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorder. It can cause an increased risk of developmental, physical and neurological harms to the human embryo or fetus.

This NHS letter is a reminder of information that every woman and girl of childbearing age should receive from their doctors when the drug is first prescribed. It contains important reminders of safety considerations, including around contraception, pregnancy and regular prescribing reviews.

Further recommended reading:

• Sodium Valproate: The Fetal Valproate Syndrome Tragedy
• Analysing the Cumberlege Review: Who should join the dots for patient safety? (Patient Safety Learning)
• Findings of the Cumberlege Review: informed consent (Patient Safety Learning)
• First Do No Harm. The report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review
• Regulatory flaws: Women were catastrophically failed in the mesh, Primodos and Sodium Valproate tragedies (Kath Sansom)