Zuranolone is the first oral drug specifically designed for severe depression after childbirth, with relief that starts on Day 3 of a two-week regimen, according to clinical trial results. Standard antidepressants can take up to three months to show mood improvement in women whose symptoms may include thoughts of harming themselves or their baby.Drug manufacturers Biogen and Sage Therapeutics received approval from the U.S.
Currently only one drug, launched in 2019 by Sage, targets postpartum depression. Zulresso is approved in the U.S. and given intravenously in a medical facility for 60 hours, at a cost of US$34,000.The drug was approved after the results of a randomized controlled clinical trial of nearly 200 people with severe postpartum depression showed significant improvement in symptoms such as suicidal ideation, anxiety and insomnia.
A 2019 Statistics Canada report on maternal mental health said almost one-quarter of people who gave birth between January and June 2018 had feelings consistent with either postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder. The proportion of respondents reporting those conditions varied across provinces, ranging from 16 per cent in Saskatchewan to 31 per cent in Nova Scotia.
Carole Dagher said she could not leave the house for months after the birth of her daughter in 2010 as she became consumed with thoughts of being an"incompetent mother" and repeatedly considered suicide while trying to bond with her baby. However, she was reluctant to try antidepressants because she feared"poisoning" her baby with her pumped breast milk. Her only other option was being admitted to hospital right away, something she also resisted as she worried about abandoning her daughter at home.
Dr. Diane Francoeur, CEO of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, said zuranolone will give some assurance to women who may fear prolonged use of existing antidepressants, but any drug should be used in combination with psychotherapy for severe postpartum depression.