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Beating baby blues: World’s first pill for postpartum depression

It’s known as one of the happiest times in the life of a new parent: The birth of their baby. But that’s not the case for every person who just gave birth.

One in seven are overcome with feelings of sadness, worthlessness, guilt and even suicide.

Postpartum depression or PPD is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of depression diagnosed at delivery was seven times higher in 2015 than in 2000.

There’s a drug newly approved by the FDA that’s being hailed as a lifesaver for new parents.

Little Mave is Brooke Wiesner’s third child and most difficult pregnancy — born four weeks premature.

“I was pretty depressed right afterward,” Wiesner said. “I didn’t feel about her, like the way I feel, like I should have felt about her.”

Two months after Mave’s birth Wiesner was considering suicide.

“I had all my kids in the car, and I was like, I have to go to a doctor because I’m like, if my kids weren’t in the car, I don’t know, I might drive it off the side of the road or something,” Wiesner said.

Suicide accounts for about 20% of postpartum deaths and is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S. That’s why the first two FDA-approved drugs to treat PPD are literally lifesavers.

“The idea that we can get people better in a matter of days or weeks is absolutely critical in this really delicate imperative timeframe,” said Dr. Riah Patterson, a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina.

The first drug, Zulresso, requires a hospital stay and is given by IV for 60 hours. And now, the FDA has approved a pill form, Zurzuvae, that new parents can take over a course of 14 days at home.

“I see people who have dramatic changes in their mood who at first don’t talk about their family or their baby at all coming into the infusion and by the end are showing me photos,” Patterson said.

Wiesner chose the IV version. In the first 24 hours, she said, “I don’t know, I was like super hopeful and then probably 48 hours I like had no feelings of sadness at all.”

Now Wiesner is back being an active, involved, loving mom to Piper, Cole and Mave.

These two drugs are the first to specifically treat postpartum depression. Data suggests up to 95% of people who experience PPD never reach remission as their PPD was not recognized or undertreated.

If you are experiencing postpartum depression, you can call or text the international helpline at 1-800-944-4773. If you are having suicidal thoughts right now, call the crisis lifeline at 988.


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