The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first pill for postpartum depression, a milestone considered likely to increase recognition and treatment of a debilitating condition that afflicts about a half-million women in the United States every year.
Clinical trial data show the pill works quickly, beginning to ease depression in as little as three days, significantly faster than general antidepressants, which can take two weeks or longer to have an effect.
That — along with the fact that it is taken for just two weeks, not for months — may encourage more patients to accept treatment, maternal mental health experts said.
The most significant aspect of the approval may not be the features of the drug, but that it is explicitly designated for postpartum depression.
The hope is that it will encourage more women to seek help and prompt more obstetricians and family doctors to screen for symptoms and suggest counseling or treatment.
Organizations:
Drug Administration
Locations:
United States