- An approved pill for postpartum depression is revolutionizing women’s mental health care, addressing a complex condition that often clouds the post-childbirth period with emotional challenges.
- ‘Zurzuvae/ Zuranolone,’ a recently FDA-approved medication, offers a new hope for severe postpartum depression by being taken orally once a day over two weeks.
- Developed by Sage Therapeutics, this groundbreaking pill displays promising effects, improving symptoms and lasting benefits for up to 45 days post-treatment. However, potential side effects and considerations for breastfeeding mothers warrant attention.
Postpartum depression, a complex and often misunderstood mental health condition, casts a shadow over what should be the happiest time in a woman’s life. In a revolutionary development, a pill for postpartum depression has been approved by health officials.
Emerging after childbirth, postpartum depression effects a notable percentage of new mothers, shattering the myth of the “baby blues.”
FDA Grants Approval on Pill For Postpartum Depression
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval of the drug, ‘Zurzuvae/ Zuranolone’ to be taken by adults who are suffering from severe depression due to pregnancy or childbirth. The medicine has been directed to be consumed once a day for two weeks.
FDA’s Director of Psychiatric Drugs, Dr Tiffany Farchione issued a statement saying,
“Having access to an oral medication will be a beneficial option for many of these women coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings.”
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The Magic Pill for Postpartum Depression Promises a Cure
Previously the only help that new mothers facing this issue could get were doctors prescribing them anti-depressants which hardly ever worked.
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The research data collected from the new pill’s clinical trial is promising. It was seen that women with severe postpartum depression showed signs of improvement in symptoms. It was also noted that the effects of the pill for postpartum depression lasted for another 45 days after the two-week ingestion period.
The recently approved pill hails from Sage Therapeutics and finds its counterpart in an infused medication, administered intravenously over a span of three days within a medical setting. Despite its FDA approval in 2019, the latter hasn’t gained widespread usage due to its hefty cost of $34,000 and the practical challenges associated with its administration.
The pill increases progesterone in the body, a hormone needed to maintain a pregnancy. The levels of progesterone plunge after childbirth and this is a major factor causing depression in women postpartum.
Sage Therapeutic’s drugs are part of an emerging class of medications dubbed neurosteroids. These stimulate a different brain pathway than older antidepressants that target serotonin, the chemical linked to mood and emotions.
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Zurzuvae’s Side Effects
Just like other medications we often take, Zurzuvae/Zuranolone is no different and has a number of side effects such as fatigue and drowsiness.
New moms also have to take caution while breast feeding as it passes into breast milk and it is yet unknown whether ingestion by the baby could have harmful effects. In order to combat this issue, mothers can continue to follow the ‘Pump and Dump’ method for at least a week and then begin nursing after the course of the medicine is over.
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