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A heartbroken Irvine mum is demanding justice after claiming her family was torn apart by the effects of an epilepsy drug.

Samantha Russell took sodium valproate during two of her six pregnancies and has had to cope with the loss of one of her children, and the challenges of raising another child with serious behavioural problems.

It has since emerged that families in the UK may not have been made fully aware of the risks attributed with taking the drug while pregnant – leaving thousands of children with disabilities.

The 31-year-old Castlepark mum is now demanding answers and is backing calls for a public enquiry into the issue.

Four short weeks after her daughter Kaitlyn was born she had died of a brain injury sustained at birth.

Samantha also believes that taking the medication while pregnant may explain why her son Dylan, eight, now has Global Development Delay.

Samantha said: “I was pregnant with Kaitlyn in 2007 and she sadly died after four weeks.

“She had a brain haemorrhage and she was born the wrong way round which meant that her head got crushed. I also later discovered that she had cerebal palsy.

“For years this was blamed on a chromosome disorder that I have but I have another son with it and he’s absolutely fine. He has a few abnormalities but nothing like Dylan and he doesn’t behave like Dylan either.

“It was every parent’s worst nightmare. It was awful and when I heard that on the news the other day that parents weren’t informed of the risks I was really angry.

“Dylan’s very unpredictable and has a lot of help at school. He destroys everything in the house, he’s violent towards his siblings too – but he can’t help it.

“He has a problem with food too and he gets up at all hours of the day because he has sleep difficulties. It’s just endless.”

Samantha is now echoing calls for a public inquiry into the issue to make sure that pregnant women are made fully aware of the risks in taking the drug.

“I do believe that Dylan behaving that way and the life he has is a direct result of that medication,” Samantha added.

“I’m severely annoyed. My mission now is to determine who’s responsible.

“I don’t blame the NHS because they only get their information from the manufacturer. I don’t know who the blame lies with to be honest with you.

“I have epilepsy and Kaitlyn had it too. I wasn’t told about the risks about taking the drug while pregnant, apart from the cleft palate – which Kaitlyn had, and spinobifida - but there was a two per cent risk of that happening.”

Gail Caldwell, NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s director of pharmacy said that the health board follows national advice and that sodium valproate shouldn’t be used by pregnant women.

Ms Caldwell added: “Sodium valproate is an effective medicine used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

“Since its introduction in 1974, the product information has included a warning about the possible risk of birth defects. As the risks to unborn children have been increasingly understood, the warnings have been strengthened.

“NHS Ayrshire and Arran follows the current national advice that sodium valproate should not be used in female children, in female adolescents, in women of childbearing potential and in pregnant women unless other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated.

“The medicine should now only be started by a specialist. If sodium valproate is the only effective option for a woman of childbearing age then they must always be given effective contraception.

“MHRA (The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) is the body with responsibility for the regulation of medicines in the UK. It operates a Yellow Card Scheme, which monitors the safety of all healthcare products in the UK to ensure they are acceptably safe for patients and those that use them.

“It has worked with industry, healthcare professionals and patient groups on a toolkit to ensure female patients are better informed about the risks of taking sodium

valproate medicines during pregnancy.

“Anyone who is currently taking sodium valproate and has not had a recent review or has any concerns about taking it should contact their GP (Family Doctor) for medical advice before taking any action. No-one should stop taking sodium valproate without discussing it first with their doctor.

“The correct process must be followed to safely withdraw from the drug and seek an appropriate alternative without causing harm. If you experience any side effects with any drug, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.

“You can also report side effects directly through the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.”

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