First pill for postpartum depression is now out, turns to be effective
Psychiatrists have started writing prescriptions for Zuranolone, which is the first pill that will cure postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression is almost becoming an everyday affair for mothers, especially those in their 40s. What usually follows this medical condition is extreme sadness, anxiety or despair, and can affect up to 1 in 5 women.
There have been cases where many women have been stuck in a haze at five months postpartum. Dr. Misty Richards, medical director of perinatal psychiatry at the Maternal Outpatient Mental Health Services Clinic at UCLA Health, treated a similar patient and shared her experience with media firms.
“She wasn’t taking showers. She wasn’t eating,” Richards said. She also mentioned that the woman’s husband had taken a leave of absence from work to care for his wife and new baby.
The doctor has treated many such patients and they mostly connect these patients to an intensive outbound program, but some patients are still actively suicidal.
Postpartum depression: A serious affair
From the look of it, it might not seem to be serious. However, postpartum depression is quite real and can have disastrous consequences.
In the case of mothers, it might increase the risk of suicide, high blood pressure, diabetes or stroke. Some of the other ailments include mental illness, suicide, and drug overdoses.
Also, infants who are born to mothers having postpartum depression are more likely to possess developmental delays and emotional or behavioral problems and also have a high risk of dying before they turn 2.
After years of study, researchers came up with Zuranolone, which is the first-ever pill to help cure postpartum depression. The pill was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in August, however, it took many months to be supplied.
As per reports, different psychiatrists are starting to write their first prescriptions. The delay was because there was a shortage of good candidates who would be willing to take the test.
Before the advent of Zuranolone, the most available treatment was an intravenous injection, which was approved in 2019. However, the injection comes with a risk of heavy sedation and sudden loss of consciousness.
That’s why there were only a handful of centers, which were permitted to utilize it.
How are patients coping with Zuranolone?
Some doctors had been trailing their patients and kept them on a 14-day course. Some patients have shown improvements from their fourth day.
They revealed that there were some patients who showed signs of drowsiness at night, however, they were fine by the morning. There were other patients who experienced chronic depression before their pregnancy, which became worse after delivery.
While other medicines failed to treat her, it was only Zuranolone which came to her rescue. The patients using this medicine also have been praising it. However, whether or not Zuranolone will have a lasting effect is not known to people till date.
Source: Interesting Engineering
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First pill for postpartum depression is now out, turns to be effective