TAMPA, Fla. — The FDA recently approved Zurzuvae, also known as Zuranolone, to specifically treat postpartum depression orally.
“This is revolutionary. It’s going to change the way that we treat postpartum depression,” said Dr. Shelly Holmstrom, an OBGYN at AdventHealth.
It’s the first pill created for PPD.
“We have a whole constellation of things that we do to try to treat postpartum depression, but nothing that is specifically researched and designed for the treatment of postpartum depression. So this is new. This is exciting,” said Dr. Alyssa Brown, chief of OBGYN for Tampa General Hospital.
Until now, the medication was available in an IV form, but it could be very costly, and doctors said it required hospitalization.
“It’s amazing that the healthcare system and the federal government have recognized maternal child health as a priority in order to approve this medicine,” said Holmstrom.
PPD is a serious depression and a potentially life-threatening condition in which women experience extreme sadness, guilt, feelings of worthlessness and anxiety, and in severe cases, they can have thoughts of harming themselves or their child.
“Two or more weeks of it, sometimes you can be very irritable, cranky, sad. You may not want to eat the same as normal. People get the sense that they’re not good enough, they’re not doing enough, they’re not meeting their mom duties,” said Dr. Nicole Silva, psychiatrist for BayCare.
“And you actually like don’t enjoy being a mom. That’s one of the most horrible parts about it,” she added.
“It usually shows up within the first weeks to month after delivery, however, can occur as late as up to one-year delivery,” said Holmstrom.
PPD is very common.
There are certain groups that are more susceptible to PPD, but doctors believe it can affect anyone who’s experienced pregnancy.
“Some of the risk factors for postpartum depression are certainly single women, younger women. It affects disproportionately what we would consider an underserved community in terms of women of color and socioeconomic status,” said Holmstrom.
“It is so pervasive that any person that had a pregnancy event is susceptible. Of course, we see it clustered in certain populations. So, any history of any type of mood disorder, be it depression or anxiety, is an increased risk factor. We know that Black and Latina women have higher rates of postpartum depression and higher rates of being untreated with their postpartum depression,” said Brown.
“Everybody should be considered high risk if they’ve had a pregnancy event. That’s why we screen every woman because of how common and pervasive the issue is,” she added.
The CDC estimates that PPD affects one in eight women.
Lauren Rozyla was one of those women.
“New motherhood is incredibly isolating… Things quickly became very dark,” said Rozyla, mother of two.
She started experiencing PPD soon after the birth of her first child.
“I started having what psychiatrists call intrusive thoughts. So I would be sitting there with my brand new baby and thinking to myself, 'What if I drop her?'" said Rozyla.
“It got to the point where I started having panic attacks. I felt hopeless. It even got to the point where I would be afraid to go into the kitchen and pick up something like a kitchen knife or a pair of scissors. Not because I wanted to hurt myself but because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop myself, and that is when I knew I truly needed help. Which, for me, that came in the form of medication,” said Rozyla.
“A lot of new moms, when they start to have these thoughts or feeling hopeless, or feeling dark, completely overwhelmed, they feel ashamed of it. They feel like 'I’ve always wanted my child. I love my child; why do I feel this way?'” Rozyla added.
Rozyla said she believes therapy, medication, and talking to other people about it saved her life.
“I really believe that by talking about it, we can save lives that way. If I had not been able to share these thoughts with my mother, my family, my husband, I might not have gotten the help that I need, and I truly credit my therapist and my support system and my medication to getting me back on track,” said Rozyla.
“Mental health in the United States is woefully underfunded, woefully undertreated. Postpartum depression is no different. So it is hugely impactful and something that I am happy that more women are talking about it,” said Brown.
Doctors believe this new FDA-approved pill will make treatment for PPD easier moving forward.
“Having an oral medication that acts quickly and we have evidence of its efficacy and reducing those symptoms is actually huge and potentially opens up the door for greater accessibility of treatment to women who need it,” said Brown.
