The debate whether pregnant women should or should not take antidepressants continues to rage unabated. There are medical experts on both sides of this contentious issue. However, a new study may change some experts' minds and certainly ease the burden of pregnant women facing a take or not take decision.

The report has researchers stating that a common antidepressant does not increase the risks of delivering a stillborn child or causing infant deaths. Published in January in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the new study seems to confirm the safety of at least some antidepressant medication.

This result is important, as much of the long-standing debate surrounds the risks of failing to treat depression in women who are pregnant. Many experts maintain that eliminating antidepressant medication can increase the health problems for both mom and baby.

The new study analyzed the medical records of more than 1.5 million newborns and their mothers in multiple Nordic countries. Around 29,000 of these future mothers had prescriptions for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are the most common prescriptions for treating depression during pregnancy.

Although many believed that taking these medications would cause mothers to deliver stillborn children or cause infant deaths before first birthday parties, researchers found that, when factoring in the mothers' depression severity, age, and personal habits, the outcomes between the two groups were the same.

Up to 23 percent of women suffer depression during pregnancy, according to the American Psychiatric Association. If left untreated, pregnant women may suffer eating disorders and sleep deprivation. These moms sometimes deliver early, often have low birth weight infants, or have newborns with other health issues.

Alternatives to antidepressants include a variety of types of counseling, which can manage mild or moderate depression successfully. After a study reported in October 2012, JAMA discouraged the use of SSRIs for pregnant women.

How do you feel about this issue? Have you been depressed during pregnancy or know someone who is or was?

Source: CNN, "Antidepressants during pregnancy don't raise infant death risk," Leslie Wade, Jan. 3, 2013