Hi -

Please note that I'm not a physician or mental health provider, bu here's what I understand from research. Doctors have traditionally believed that depression may go away during pregnancy because there is a natural "high" from the experience. That could be why yours basically suggested waiting. But for someone who has a history of depression, that seems less likely to happen. Apparently, depression causes the fetus to be exposed to high levels of stress hormones that can be very damaging. You're right, from what I can tell, that the risk to a fetus from untreated depression is much greater than the risk from antidepressants. However, nicotine is much worse, and there's a lot more study that's been done on that - cigarettes have dozens of other chemicals, like cyanide and lead, that are also dangerous. If it were my wife, I'd urge her as strongly as I could to treat the depression and stop smoking.

You should question your doctor closely about this. Depression can also be helped by therapy, diet and non-medication means. In fact, meds alone aren't likely to relieve serious depression completely on their own.

Good luck with this!

John