Emma Friedmann took the epilepsy drug sodium valproate during and after her pregnancy, leaving her son Andrew with severe autism, along with hearing and sight problems. Andrew, now 18, needs round-the-clock, full-time care.

Scandalously, Emma – who is my constituent – and thousands of other affected families weren’t fully informed of the risks of taking sodium valproate during pregnancy.

The story of this drug is frankly shameful. Since 1973, when it was first prescribed in the UK, approximately 7,000 children have been harmed by exposure to sodium valproate. Many more families have been affected by their inability to conceive, and through miscarriages and stillbirths.

In that time there have been countless opportunities and warnings for sodium valproate to be fully investigated. And yet various regulatory bodies failed to look at this as an issue worthy of detailed examination.

For far too long, women have been taking valproate entirely unaware of the severe impact it could have on the life of their children.

It should be acknowledged that valproate is highly effective in treating epilepsy and bipolar disorder, and in preventing migraines. However, taking the drug while pregnant can cause serious birth defects.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency reports that while the general risk of a foetal abnormality is 2%-3%, in women taking valproate the risk is around 10%. Problems can include spina bifida, malformation of limbs and vital organs, and facial and skull malformations.

The use of valproate in pregnancy can also affect a child’s development. Around 30-40 children in 100 may have problems such as delays in learning to walk and talk, and poor speech and language skills.

Problems can include spina bifida, and malformation of limbs, vital organs, face and skull

Labour has promised to hold a full public inquiry into this public health injustice and into the wider history of pharmaceutical and medical regulation since the Thalidomide scandal. This will ensure crucial lessons are learned from the experiences of thousands of families.

Such a review will also prove invaluable in outlining a proposed regulatory mechanism for the next 10 years, which will take into account how best we co-operate with other national and international regulators post-Brexit.

Profound uncertainty remains around broader medical and device regulation once the European Medicines Agency is relocated. Patient safety must be at the very heart of the government’s plans.

More immediately, the government must continue to do more to raise awareness of the dangers of valproate. A survey published last month by the charities Epilepsy Action, Epilepsy Society and Young Epilepsy found that almost one-fifth of women taking the drug still don’t know the risks this medicine can pose during pregnancy.

And, even more worryingly, more than a quarter of women currently taking sodium valproate said they had not been informed of the risks of this medicine in pregnancy.

It is welcome that the government developed the Valproate Toolkit in 2016. This included a patient booklet, pharmacy cards (given on collection of a valproate prescription) and a healthcare professional booklet.

However, two studies carried out by IN-FACT (the Independent Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust) found that 85% of patients were still not receiving the patient booklet, and around 90% not receiving the pharmacy card.

This must be resolved immediately. Ministers must ensure that awareness is fully disseminated to stop more lives being irrevocably damaged.

There has been a systematic failure to properly inform women of the dangers of this drug

Labour will also look again at the guidance for clinicians who prescribe sodium valproate to women of childbearing age, including recommendations for more frequent discussions about the risks during pregnancy.

We also welcome calls for the government to look into how they can compensate those families who have been so significantly affected. In France, the scale of this injustice has been recognised and a fund worth €10m established.

For more than 40 years, victims and families have been let down. There has been a systematic and scandalous failure to properly inform women of the dangers of this drug.

The government has a responsibility to right these wrongs and ensure that the scandal of sodium valproate misuse is never repeated.

• Jonathan Ashworth is the shadow health secretary, and Labour MP for Leicester South