Valproate documentary airs as Bognor Regis family waits for redress

Janet Stockley-Pollard, 58, took sodium valproate — branded Epilim — through all four of her pregnancies without knowing it could harm her unborn children. All four, now aged 26, 28, 36 and 38, have been diagnosed with foetal valproate syndrome, which can bring neurodevelopmental issues, autism and congenital malformations. Her children's difficulties include atypical autism, bowel problems and poor working memory.

Diagnosed with epilepsy at 14, Stockley-Pollard says she "always" carries guilt for taking the drug. "If I'd have known the consequences, I certainly wouldn't have put my children through this," she said. With her husband Steve now 68 and her own 60th approaching, she worries about "what's going to happen when we as parents aren't there to look after them anymore".

As many as 20,000 children were exposed to the drug, and calls for compensation have grown since its side effects came to light. Then health secretary Jeremy Hunt ordered a review led by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, which became the first to recommend financial redress. England's patient safety commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, repeated that recommendation in her 2024 Hughes report.

The Department of Health and Social Care said no decision on financial redress has been made, adding that the government is "determined to make progress on its response to the Hughes report". Stockley-Pollard is not counting on it. "I feel like they have to [provide this], but we've been hopeful before and those hopes have been dashed," she said.

Manufacturer Sanofi said it understood "the concerns of persons affected by valproate and their families and their need to be heard". The company called valproate use in pregnancy "an incredibly complex issue" involving government, regulators, doctors, prescribers, pharmacists and patients, and said it is committed to working with stakeholders on educating about the drug's risks and precautions.