The claim is well-supported by multiple official UK reviews and government sources. The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (the Cumberlege Review, July 2020) found that women taking sodium valproate "had not been properly informed as to the risk they were taking and the options open to them" and that women "were never told of the effect their medication for epilepsy could have on their unborn children." MHRA data showed that approximately 375 women per year were prescribed sodium valproate while pregnant (2010–2012). Surveys cited in the review found that 18–20% of women taking valproate were unaware of pregnancy risks, and 28% said they had never been informed of those risks. The Hughes Report (February 2024), commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, explicitly discusses the "avoidable harm" caused by "system-wide healthcare and regulatory failures" relating to valproate, confirming that women continued taking the drug during pregnancy without adequate information. Government drug safety updates confirm that up to 30–40% of children exposed to valproate in utero experience developmental disorders, and approximately 10% have congenital malformations. The claim that women continued taking sodium valproate during pregnancy is factually accurate. The associated assertions — that doctors knew the risks and patients were not informed — are also corroborated by the Cumberlege Review and regulatory findings. Sources: - Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, "First Do No Harm" (July 2020): https://www.immdsreview.org.uk/downloads/IMMDSReview_Web.pdf - Patient Safety Commissioner, "The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh" (February 2024): https://www.patientsafetycommissioner.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/14.385_DHSC_OPSSC-Redress-Report.pdf - MHRA / GOV.UK, "Medicines related to valproate: risk of abnormal pregnancy outcomes": https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/medicines-related-to-valproate-risk-of-abnormal-pregnancy-outcomes - MHRA / GOV.UK, "Valproate medicines: are you acting in compliance with the pregnancy prevention measures?": https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/valproate-medicines-are-you-in-acting-in-compliance-with-the-pregnancy-prevention-measures - IMMDS Review, Patient Groups evidence on Sodium Valproate: https://www.immdsreview.org.uk/downloads/Evidence/FOR%20PUBLICATION%20-%20Patient%20Groups%20-%20Sodium%20Valproate.pdf