Patient knowledge about issues related to pregnancy in epilepsy: A cross-sectional study

In 2009, new guidelines were established by the American Academy of Neurology regarding pregnancy in women with epilepsy. A questionnaire was developed to assess patient knowledge of current guidelines related to epilepsy and pregnancy. Patients were recruited from a single outpatient clinic in a large Canadian tertiary care center. Patients were eligible to participate if they were female, of reproductive age, had active epilepsy for at least 6. months and were not cognitively impaired. One hundred women completed the survey (response rate 87%) with a median score of 40%. A significant association was found between total score and years of education (p < 0.001). Significant associations were not found between total score and epilepsy duration (p = 0.37), previously being pregnant (p = 0.22), and polytherapy (p = 0.31). Patient knowledge of the impact of epilepsy on pregnancy is low. More knowledge translation efforts are required to increase knowledge of issues related to pregnancy for women with epilepsy.