Teratogenic Effects: Pregnancy Category D.

Use of divalproex sodium extended-release tablets during pregnancy can cause congenital malformations including neural tube defects. If this drug is used during pregnancy, or if the patient becomes pregnant while taking this drug, the patient should be apprised of the potential hazard to the fetus. Divalproex sodium extended-release tablets should be considered for women of childbearing potential only after the risks have been thoroughly discussed with the patient and weighed against the potential benefits of treatment.

### Human Data

Congenital Malformations

The North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry reported 16 cases of congenital malformations among the offspring of 149 women with epilepsy who were exposed to valproic acid monotherapy during the first trimester of pregnancy at doses of approximately 1000 mg per day, for a prevalence rate of 10.7% (95% CI 6.3% to 16.9%). Three of the 149 offspring (2%) had neural tube defects and 6 of the 149 (4%) had less severe malformations. Among epileptic women who were exposed to other antiepileptic drug monotherapies during pregnancy (1,048 patients) the malformation rate was 2.9% (95% CI 2% to 4.1%). There was a 4-fold increase in congenital malformations among infants with valproic acid-exposed mothers compared with those treated with other antiepileptic monotherapies as a group (Odds Ratio 4; 95% CI 2.1 to 7.4). This increased risk does not reflect a comparison versus any specific antiepileptic drug, but the risk versus the heterogeneous group of all other antiepileptic drug monotherapies combined. The increased teratogenic risk from valproic acid in women with epilepsy is expected to be reflected in an increased risk in other indications (e.g., migraine or bipolar disorder).

The strongest association of maternal valproate usage with congenital malformations is with neural tube defects (as discussed under the next subheading). However, other congenital anomalies (e.g., craniofacial defects, cardiovascular malformations and anomalies involving various body systems), compatible and incompatible with life, have been reported. Sufficient data to determine the incidence of these congenital anomalies are not available.

### Neural Tube Defects

The incidence of neural tube defects in the fetus is increased in mothers receiving valproate during the first trimester of pregnancy. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has estimated the risk of valproic acid exposed women having children with spina bifida to be approximately 1% to 2%. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) estimates the general population risk for congenital neural tube defects as 0.14% to 0.2%.

Tests to detect neural tube and other defects using currently accepted procedures should be considered a part of routine prenatal care in pregnant women receiving valproate.

Evidence suggests that pregnant women who receive folic acid supplementation may be at decreased risk for congenital neural tube defects in their offspring compared to pregnant women not receiving folic acid. Whether the risk of neural tube defects in the offspring of women receiving valproate specifically is reduced by folic acid supplementation is unknown. Dietary folic acid supplementation both prior to and during pregnancy should be routinely recommended to patients contemplating pregnancy.

### Other Adverse Pregnancy Effects

Patients taking valproate may develop clotting abnormalities [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6)]. A patient who had low fibrinogen when taking multiple anticonvulsants including valproate gave birth to an infant with afibrinogenemia who subsequently died of hemorrhage. If valproate is used in pregnancy, the clotting parameters should be monitored carefully.

Patients taking valproate may develop hepatic failure [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. Fatal hepatic failures, in a newborn and in an infant, have been reported following the maternal use of valproate during pregnancy.

### Animal Data

Reproduction studies have demonstrated valproate-induced teratogenicity. Increased incidences of malformations, as well as intrauterine growth retardation and death, have been observed in mice, rats, rabbits, and monkeys following prenatal exposure to valproate. Malformations of the skeletal system are the most common structural abnormalities produced in experimental animals; however, neural tube closure defects were observed in mice exposed during organogenesis to maternal plasma valproate concentrations 2.3 times the upper limit of the human therapeutic range. 

In pregnant rats, oral administration during organogenesis of a dose ≥ 0.5 times the maximum recommended daily human dose on a mg/m2 basis (MRHD) produced malformations (e.g., skeletal, cardiac, and urogenital) and growth retardation in the offspring. These doses resulted in peak maternal plasma valproate levels of ≥ 3.4 times the upper limit of the human therapeutic range. Behavioral deficits have been reported in the offspring of rats given 0.5 times the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis throughout most of pregnancy.

Valproate produced skeletal and visceral malformations in the offspring of pregnant rabbits given an oral dose approximately 2 times the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis during organogenesis. Skeletal malformations, growth retardation, and death were observed in rhesus monkeys following an oral dose equal to the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis during organogenesis. This dose resulted in peak maternal plasma valproate levels 2.8 times the upper limit of the human therapeutic range.

#### Registry

To provide information regarding the effects of in utero exposure to divalproex sodium, healthcare providers are advised to recommend that pregnant patients taking divalproex sodium extended-release tablets enroll in the North American Antiepileptic Drug (NAAED) Pregnancy Registry. This can be done by calling the toll free number 1-888-233-2334, and must be done by patients themselves. Information on the registry can also be found at the website http://www.aedpregnancyregistry.org/.