The Independent Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust (IN-FACT) was launched in November 2012 to support and give relief and assistance to ail affected persons whose disabilities were caused by their mothers taking a medication known as, or used as, an anti-convulsant medication to treat their condition during pregnancy. Not all children who are exposed to anti-convulsant drugs are affected and the level of risk is determined by known factors such as type of anti-convulsant, dose of anti-convulsant and unknown susceptibility factors. Children who are diagnosed with a fetal anti-convulsant syndrome (FACS) are diagnosed by a medical specialist due to a constellation of physical and neurodevelopmental deficits they may present with. It is estimated that around 0.5-1% of newborns may be exposed prenatally to an anti-convulsant drug. Sodium valproate reportedly carries the largest risk to developing infants and continues to be prescribed widely across a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions (Bialer 2012). According to prescription records (DIN-LINK data) there were over 21,500 women taking sodium valproate in 2010 in England and Wales.
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