Antiepileptic drugs- Salivary testing of infants with breastmilk exposure and the decision-making processes of women with epilepsy regarding infant feeding

Abstract

This study is presented around its “life course”, broken into chapters that demonstrate the sequential progression through each phase of the study. This commences with the introductory chapter and concludes with the study conclusions and recommendations for future action. The stages will now be briefly outlined:
Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter provides an overview of the epidemiology of epilepsy, the symptoms and treatment of the condition and how the condition is considered during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The chapter then discusses the benefits and statistics of breastfeeding, barriers to breastfeeding and the use of anti-epileptic drugs when breastfeeding. The chapter goes on to discuss medication information sources and decisions by healthcare professionals regarding breastfeeding and finally discusses the use of saliva as a method of therapeutic drug monitoring.
Chapter 2: Literature review This chapter reviews the literature and discusses the use of saliva in therapeutic drug monitoring of infants. The chapter concludes with reference to the literature review and how it contributed to the study aim and objectives.
Chapter 3: Theoretical background This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background to the research, providing a synopsis of relevant theories and concepts including Rational Decision Making, The Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour that helped to guide the study.
Chapter 4: Methods This chapter includes the research methodology, methods of data collection and analysis for both phases. Ethical issues concerned with the study and the rigour of the research approaches are also addressed.
Chapter 5: Results and Discussions of Qualitative Data The Demographic results are discussed in relation to the research aims and objectives using the theoretical underpinning as mentioned in chapter 3.
Chapter 6: Results and Discussions of Qualitative Data-Thematic Analysis The qualitative interview results are discussed in relation to the research aims and objectives using the theoretical underpinning as mentioned in chapter 3 and analysed using Thematic Analysis.
Chapter 7: Results and Discussions of Quantitative Data The method development required to allow the qualitative study to progress is described in this chapter. The results of the method developed for the quantitative extraction of lamotrigine and carbamazepine from both breast milk and saliva are discussed in relation to the research aims and objectives using data analysis methods described in chapter 4.
Chapter 8: Summary and Significance of the study The strengths and limitations of the research, along with its contributions to knowledge, recommendations and summary are also discussed.

Date of Award	Dec 2020
Original language	English
Sponsors	Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Bernie Reid (Supervisor), Bridgeen Callan (Supervisor) & Marlene Sinclair (Supervisor)