When it comes to pregnancy and depression, doctors are finding it hard to balance out the needs of the unborn child with the needs of the mother. Traditionally, women were advised to stop taking their antidepressant medications when they became pregnant. There were too few studies done on the effects of antidepressants on a developing fetus. Now the medical community is wondering what effects maternal depression may have on the baby.

Tenna Perry, a mother of three from Porter, Texas, was placed on antidepressants shortly after her eldest child was born. When she became pregnant with her second child, her doctor suggested she go off the medication.

"I have been on a variety of meds over the years, some helpful, some useless, but when they were the right ones, life was good," says Perry. "In 1995, I became pregnant with my second child and my doctor suggested getting off the meds because of the possibility of birth defects. It took less than three weeks to find out my depression wasn't just a state of mind. The drugs kept me sane. Without them, I was suicidal, even though my husband and I desperately wanted the baby. I couldn't focus on my job, take care of my family or myself. In essence, I was a danger to all."

Though Perry was worried about the effect the medication might have on her unborn child, she is sure she did the right thing by going on the medication. "I have no doubt that if I hadn't gotten back on [the medication], neither myself nor my baby would have survived," says Perry.

No matter what medication you are taking while pregnant, your baby is taking it, too. This fact makes doctors pause before prescribing any medication, especially antidepressants, because the studies have been so few and far between. That is changing, however, though not quickly enough for concerned mothers-to-be.

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