Any pregnant woman taking an antiepileptic drug can enroll in the North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry. The objective of the registry, established in 1997, is to get information on the frequency of birth defects - such as spina bifida, hearing loss and cleft lip - among babies whose mothers took antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy. Before the registry, that research was done only by the manufacturers of the antiepileptic drugs. As of March, 5,750 women had enrolled in the registry - but many more are eligible. Researchers would like women to enroll before the 16th week of their pregnancies, but they can enroll anytime during pregnancy. read more

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