Bone mineral content during pregnancy in epileptics on anticonvulsant drugs and in their newborns.

Bone mineral content (BMC) in the long bones was measured by photon absorptiometry in epileptic pregnant and normal pregnant women an in their newborns. The BMC (highly related to total body calcium) was completely unchanged during pregnancy in both groups. The BMC was of virtually the same order in the newborns of the epileptic mothers as in the newborns of the normal mothers. Furthermore, the development state, estimated from BMC, weight and length, was identical in the two groups of newborns. These results show that anticonvulsant osteomalacia can be held at a constant level during pregnancy, and infants born to epileptic mothers have no demonstrable demineralization of bone.