Stimulants are considered drugs and are commonly used today. The question is, will the use of stimulants during pregnancy affect the baby. A pregnant woman may be prescribed stimulants (antidepressants) because she is depressed and stressed about everything going on in her life during pregnancy, but what many people don't see is that it will affect the baby in the long term. Most mothers want the best for their child and want to make sure they have as healthy a life as possible. Is it safe to take antidepressants during pregnancy and are there any risk factors? There is mainly a biological and environmental aspect that reflects the child's senses and development. The biological part that would influence behavior and development during childhood would be the mother's taking antidepressants during pregnancy. About 15-20% of women suffer from some type of mood disorder during pregnancy, but only 5-13% take an antidepressant medication. It is the most commonly used and the most effective. Exposure to antidepressants during pregnancy affects growth of cortical network function. It could basically affect a child's speech, hearing, and site. The study aimed to see whether children's speech growth was changed by antidepressants while in the womb and whether the response to the mother's mood changes. The control group consisted of mothers who were not very depressed. There were also mothers who were simply depressed without taking antidepressants. There were mothers who were treated for their depression with antidepressants and were tested while the baby was still in the womb. Then all the babies were tested around six and ten months of age on their...... middle of paper.. ....a great deal. So antidepressants may be a small factor in low birth weight, but they are not hard evidence to show a change in the factors in the study. A pregnant woman may be prescribed stimulants (antidepressants) because she is depressed and stressed about everything happening in her life during pregnancy and it may not affect the baby in the long term. Works Cited Ramos, É., St-André, M. , & Bérard, A. (2010). Association between antidepressant use during pregnancy and infants born small for gestational age. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Weikum, W. M., Oberlander, T. F., Hensch, T. K., & Werker, J. F. (2012). Prenatal exposure to antidepressants and depressed maternal mood alter the trajectory of infant speech perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 17221-17227. doi:10.1073/pnas.1121263109