United States: The common condition for new moms known as postpartum depression, which is distinguished by deep sadness, anxiety, or despair several months after childbirth, impacts up to twenty percent of females.
Subsequently, the medical director of perinatal psychiatry practicing at the Maternal Outpatient Mental Health Services Clinic of UCLA Health, Dr. Misty Richards presented a case with regards to the core concept of postpartum depression.
A 42-year-old female could barely move around for five months after giving birth; she needed help in washing and eating, among other tasks.
Richards recounted, “She wasn’t taking showers. She wasn’t eating,” as reported by NBC News.
Richards’ clinic has treated hundreds of such cases, including a patient who was actively suicidal despite attending intensive outpatient treatment. It was in this critical state that Richards prescribed zuranolone, the first pill designed specifically for postpartum depression.
Further details about zuranolone
This antiviral medicine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, and its supply took many months to make it available.
Several psychiatrists said that they are using writing prescriptions for the first time, which is because the time has been used in efforts to look for good subjects who are fit for experimentation of the drug.
In this case, the scientists believed that it would be a ‘game-chaser’ because of its ‘fast reporting’ and the fact that ‘it can be taken at home.
Richards pointed out that, out of the patients who were administered zuranolone so far, the first one said that the symptoms of depression began to fade approximately from the third day. Thus, the patients indicated positive dynamics starting from the eighth day, but the elimination did not worsen the condition, according to NBC News.
The impact of postpartum depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) has a definite and potentially severe impact on both the mother and her children. It may be affected indirectly in mothers by increasing the probability of suicidal ideas, high blood pressure, diabetes, or a stroke.
Furthermore, following childbirth, increased rates of postpartum depression, schizophrenia, and other types of mental illnesses significantly contribute to suicide and intentional drug overdoses, among other causes of death within the initial year.
However, it should also be noted that until zoranolone, there was only one known option for treating the disease, which is an intravenous injection that was approved in 2019.