# Mothers seek compensation for children harmed by pregnancy epilepsy drug sodium valproate

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-mothers-who-took-on-big-pharma-duo-spend-years-fighting-for-compensation-after-20000-children-were-born-with-birth-defects/
- Published: 2026-11-09T08:31:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T08:47:34+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16267611/Mothers-battle-sodium-valproate-birth-defects-epilespy-drug.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Health, Medicine, World

## Key points

- Sodium valproate in pregnancy is linked to serious harm.
- Two mothers have campaigned for affected families for years.
- A recommended compensation scheme has not been set up.

## Summary

Two mothers, Emma Murphy and Janet Williams, have spent years campaigning for compensation for children affected by sodium valproate, an epilepsy medicine linked to serious birth defects and developmental disorders when taken during pregnancy. Their investigation, featured in the documentary *Mums v Big Pharma*, examines how doctors, regulators and the Government handled warnings about the risks.

The article says at least 20,000 children in the UK may have been affected since the 1970s. Murphy says all five of her older children were affected, while Williams says her two sons showed signs of harm; both women say they were not warned. After a legal case against the NHS collapsed when legal aid was withdrawn, they sued manufacturer Sanofi, whose defence said it had supplied side-effect information to regulators. Archive records show Government advisers discussed possible abnormalities in 1973 but judged the risk low and the evidence insufficient to stop use. A government-commissioned review recommended compensation, but the patient safety commissioner says no scheme or substantive response has followed more than two years later.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.