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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · International Journal of Epilepsy
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1772709
Original Article

Reproductive Health of Women with Epilepsy in India: An Observational Study

Aadithya Narayan Sunil Kumar
1   Department of Neurology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Rajeswari Aghoram 
1   Department of Neurology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Aneesh Keepanasseril
2   Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Pradeep P. Nair
1   Department of Neurology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Objectives Women with epilepsy (WWE) have special reproductive health needs. We compare menstrual disorders, obstetric outcomes, and patterns of contraceptive use among WWE in the reproductive age group to those without epilepsy.

Methods Sixty WWE between the ages of 18 and 45 years were randomly selected from a hospital database, and 60 controls in the same age group were recruited from among their families or close contacts. A questionnaire adapted from the National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS-5) was administered to collect data on menstrual patterns, obstetric outcomes, fertility preferences, and contraceptive use. Descriptive statistics were used. Graphical and cross-tabulations were used for comparisons. All statistics were performed on STATA version 14.2 (StataCorp, Texas, United States).

Results The demographic characteristics including mean age, education, and occupational status were comparable. Dysmenorrhea requiring use of pain killers was more common among WWE (odds ratio [OR]: 3.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11–8.72); other menstrual disorders were equally frequent. Spontaneous fetal loss was seen in 25 (21.9%) of 114 pregnancies in WWE and 22 (17.9%) of 123 among control women. Demand for family planning was satisfied in 21 (65.6%) of 32 eligible WWE and 23 (62.2%) of 37 controls with the most common method being female sterilization. WWE knew fewer methods of contraception compared with controls (median: 2; interquartile range [IQR]: 1.2 vs. 4; IQR: 2.5; p < 0.0001).

Conclusion WWE had more dysmenorrhea and less knowledge of contraceptive methods compared with controls. Abnormal uterine bleeding, contraceptive use, and spontaneous fetal loss were similar in both groups.

Keywords

women with epilepsy - menstrual disorder - contraception

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the institutional ethics board (JIP/IEC-OS/2022/149).


Data Availability Statement

Data are available on request from the authors.




Publication History

Article published online:
25 September 2023

© 2023. Indian Epilepsy Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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