The Irish Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register was set up in 2001 for pregnant women with epilepsy in Ireland. Since 2007 the Irish Register has formally joined up with the United Kingdom (UK) Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register (which was established in 1996 for pregnant women with epilepsy in the UK). The ongoing running of each Register remains unchanged however anonymised information from both Registers will be joined regularly.  

A major objective of the Register is to obtain and publish information on the frequency of major malformations such as heart defects, spina bifida and cleft palate among infants whose mothers take one or more anti-epileptic drugs to prevent seizures.

Women with epilepsy who become pregnant, whether or not they are taking anti-epileptic drugs for their epilepsy are eligible to register their pregnancy. Women are required to register before outcomes are known.

The running of the Irish Epilepsy and Pregnancy Register is and has been supported by unrestricted educational grants  from the following: Irish Brain Research Foundation; Monkstown Hospital Trust; Beaumont Hospital Foundation; Eisai Allpharservice Ltd.; UCB (Pharma) Ireland Ltd.; Janssen-Cilag Ltd.; Pfizer Healthcare Ireland; GlaxoSmithKline; Sanofi-Aventis.