It's very important to know how to use psychotropic medicine, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnant women. Because between 14% and 23% of pregnant women will experience a depressive disorder while pregnant. In 2003, approximately 13% of women took an antidepressant at some point in pregnancy, a rate that has doubled since 1999. Both maternal depressive symptoms and antidepressant exposure are associated with fetal growth changes and shorter gestations, but the majority of studies that evaluated antidepressant risks were unable to control for the possible effects of a depressive disorder. Antidepressant use in pregnancy is well studied, but available research has not yet adequately controlled for other factors that may influence birth outcomes including maternal illness or problematic health behaviors that can adversely affect pregnancy.