Spina Bifida in Infants of Women Treated with Carbamazepine during Pregnancy

SHORTLY after Robert and Guibaud reported in 19821 an association between the use of valproic acid during pregnancy by women with seizure disorders and the occurrence of spina bifida in their offspring, carbamazepine was also implicated, on the basis of 12 cases of spina bifida among 60 infants with birth defects after exposure to carbamazepine in utero.2 , 3 Jones et al. recently reported the outcomes of pregnancy in a cohort of 56 women taking carbamazepine, on the basis of the data from the California Teratogen Registry.4 This study included a case of spina bifida. In follow-up correspondence, Jones et al. mentioned . . .