Former Health Minister Jeremy Hunt has called for an “immediate solution” to sodium valproate, which has been linked to physical malformations, autism and developmental delays in many children when taken by their mothers during pregnancy. In 2013, the European Medicines Agency recommended restrictions on the prescription of the drug, which is also used to treat bipolar disorder and severe migraine. But many doctors did not know the advice, they continued to offer the drug. Jeremy Hunt called for an end to prescribing sodium valproate to expectant mothers. Photo: Tayfun Salcı / ZUMA Press Wire / REX / Shutterstock A review published in 2020 estimates that 20,000 Britons were exposed to the drug as developing babies. The latest data show that 222 pregnant women were given sodium valproate in 2018-21, according to the Regulatory Service for Drugs and Health Products. He also said that exposure rates have been declining since the introduction of the contraception program and that rates in 2020-21 were “substantially lower”. An NHS spokesman in England said he had set up a team of experts to help reduce drug use in women who could become pregnant by 50% next year. The Sunday Times quoted Hunt as saying: “It takes conviction that after so many warnings this has not yet been resolved. “This is a significant risk to patient safety and ministers must order an immediate solution to avoid any harm that could be avoided.” The newspaper reported that the drug is still administered without a leaflet on patient safety information inside. The Ministry of Health stated: “Patient safety is a priority and we take all reports on this issue extremely seriously.”
