FDA Considers Anti-Depressant for Postpartum Depression: What to Know
"There may soon be a pill specifically designed to treat postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression is the most common medical complication that occurs after giving birth, affecting over 13% of new female parents.
There are treatments for the condition, but no single pill that can quickly target the symptoms.
Now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering an application by Biogen and Sage Therapeutics to review an anti-depressant targeting postpartum depression.
The pill, called Zuranolone, works by regulating neurotransmitters in the brain that help manage stress and anxiety.
Zuranolone is currently being reviewed by the FDA, which will make a decision regarding the approval of the drug by August 5, 2023.
“I think this could be life-changing for many women. I feel this pill could really help a lot of mothers struggling with depression and anxiety to feel better quickly and be able to better care for themselves and their children,” Dr. Jill Purdie, a board-certified OB/GYN and medical director at Pediatrix Medical Group, told Healthline.
Left untreated, postpartum depression can impair functioning and take a massive toll on people’s quality of life.
Many women who develop the conditionTrusted Source experience mood swings, anxiety, breastfeeding problems, relationship issues, substance misuse, and persistent depression.
According to Sarah McBane, PharmD, a health sciences clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, postpartum depression can be challenging to accurately diagnose and many women experience difficulty accessing care and coping with the stigma of negative feelings during what is traditionally viewed as a happy time.
Postpartum depression is currently treated with counseling and medications, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs and brexanolone injection, which was approved by the FDA in 2019.
While normal anti-depressants can help with postpartum depression, they have not been studied, specifically, for postpartum depression.
SSRIs also take around a month to take effect.
That’s a “long time to wait, especially for a new mom struggling with their new role along with symptoms of postpartum depression,” McBane said.
Zuranolone offers a new option to improve depressive symptoms, she said.
“A drug that would improve symptoms faster would be very helpful in this unique situation,” Purdie said.
The FDA is currently evaluating a new oral medication specifically designed to treat postpartum depression. The drug would be the first of its kind — a fast, effective treatment to help alleviate postpartum depression within a matter of days."
*Having this new medication for new parents struggling with postpartum depression could be a lifesaver! There has never been an anti-depressant that has worked in a few days. Normally, they take weeks before we start to see a difference. I am curious to see if this would allow for new anti-depressants to be created for everyone that struggles with anxiety and depression that could work faster than our current ones. I am excited for the future of psych medications and to see how healthcare improves for those struggling with anxiety and depression. What do you think about this medication? Would you consider taking something like this?*
#PostpartumDepression #Zuranolone #Medication
Please find the full article at Healthline.
If you are looking for more information on postpartum depression, you may like this article!
@fruityPond7887
As I have worked in the Bio Pharm industry .... a potential patient base of only 13 % would not make the commercial aspect worth it.......
so in my guesstimate that this would eventually be over prescribed.
i feel for those who suffer from various conditions but in listening or reading to all the side effects with a pill for everything world ... i would hope we would work on other types of treatments.
@toughTiger6481 That makes sense Tiger! I hope that this medication would be approved, but I would also hope that they wouldn't overprescribe it just to make money. I am so appreciative of all the research that goes into our medications, but sometimes Big Pharma just cares about all the money. Thank you for your thoughts!! ❤️
TW for small birth recovery detail
I saw this elsewhere but it was shared on 7cups.
I think it's a bit sad how this is being presented. I helped someone post-partum to an extent. She didn't have PPD but she did have physiological changes affecting her brain chemistry (hormone fluctuations, big shift after a bit of placenta was expelled about a week later). Plus the usual things like physically needing to recover, physically she had traumatic and dangerous delivery. The sleep deprivation, dealing with the body changes of not being pregnant but not having a pre-pregnancy body.
I am not anti-medications, but I think in many cases PPD is connected to things like the above, ramped up. What about other supports? Post partum doulas, at home after care visits for mom and baby to help with a wide range of things, recovery, feeding, etc. Actually recognizing moods with a hormone change is normal and deserves proper support instead of immediately medicating it. Like @toughTiger6481 said, it seems like overprescribing is possible. A few flags with the article come up for me, one this is for PPD but anxiety is mentioned a few times - I'm not a professional so maybe it's appropriate but it's a bit of a flag to me. The mention of difficulty with accessing care without really a plan to address what I think needs to be more holistic care in general (and not in an alt med type of way). The mention of fast - I agree it's a benefit, especially compared to the other medications, it's not like PPD is easily an all or nothing thing.
So overall yay for a new drug that can help some people, but boo to this article for going into more than the med itself but ignoring some major factors.
@AffyAvo I agree with you Affy! Overall, I generally think antidepressants may be prescribed a little too quickly especially for younger people. I think it shouldn't be a first solution, but more of a support after other more holistic methods have been tried. Like you mentioned, there are people who definitely need the medication immediately. But more overall support could help lighten the overall consequences of postpartum. Thank you for these thoughts!