my babys father has epilepsy and i am 20 weeks pregnant i was wondering if there was any test that can be done while i am pregnant to find out if our baby will have epilepsy too???
2006-12-27 05:04:55 · 6 answers · asked by truely_forever7232006 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
I feel compelled to answer this question. As an epileptic, I am faced with the fact that the public at large knows almost nothing about the disease and that is primarily our fault because we don't always openly talk about it to other people.
1. You can (and I do) live a very normal life with epilepsy. The modern medications out there are great.
2. Epilepsy has a variety of different causes some of which include: genetics, high fevers as a child and a brain injury. It is impossible to tell what can cause any individual person's disorder, so your baby's father's epilepsy could be caused by something that is not genetic.
3. In order to be classified as an epileptic, you need to have seizures for more than 5 years. People have isolated incidences all of the time.
4. There are many different types of epilepsy all of them with different symptoms... some worse than others. 1 in 200 people have epilepsy. So, everyone knows several people with the disease and just don't realize it.
5. There is no way to test, there is no reason to test and there is nothing to worry about at this point in time. I have epilepsy and worried about my baby while I was carrying her, but it was never about epilepsy.
I have a 2 year old daughter and sure it enters my mind from time to time. As your child develops, keep an eye on them and look for the small signs. Staring off into space and shivers. Ask the father what kind of epilepsy and what kind of seizures he has. It is highly unusual to have grand mal seizures in children under the age of three. Most seizures (grand mal in particular) do not happen until puberty sets in when the hormones start changing.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and please don't worry!
2006-12-30 15:02:11 · answer #1 · answered by Johnny Johnny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your baby's daddy is the only one in his family with epilepsy it may not be genetic, not all epilepsy is.
Either way you can speak to a genetic counselor to discuss the risks and any screening tests BUT at this point what does it matter? You are pregnant, with a baby, he/she is what he/she is. I believe it is wrong to abort a baby because of disability, but even if you believe it is right you are too late in your pregnancy. Amniocentesis used to screen for genetic disorders is not without its risks, and knowing will not change the outcome so why risk it?
2006-12-27 13:19:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it wasn't something mentioned before when the doctor got the family history, make sure you mention it the next time you go in to get seen. I'm not sure if they can test for epilepsy now, but it'll give everyone a heads up just in case something happens.
2006-12-27 13:28:27 · answer #3 · answered by lilly_rose_starphase 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No there is not that I know of, But it's a good idea to let your doctor know this prior to giving birth so if something happens after delivery they know how to respond. Just because the baby's father has epilepsy doesn't mean you baby will, because half of your child's genes come from you and half from it's father. Please let your doctor know this if you haven't already done so. Hope this helps.
2006-12-27 13:12:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My husband also has this. Our daughter is 3 1/2 and has had "spells". They haven't called it epilepsy. There are tests, talk to your doctor.
2006-12-27 13:58:56 · answer #5 · answered by J*A*K*C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Talk to your doctor, about an amniosentisis. to check for the this condition in your baby before birth. It may be one of any number of tests they can perform to check for this condtion.
2006-12-27 13:09:07 · answer #6 · answered by Cheryl 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋