Postpartum drug approval would be ‘game changer’
The South African Medical Research Council says the approval of the first postpartum oral treatment would be a game changer for the country.
The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved the drug.
Zuranolone is a once-a-day pill that claims to help the 15 percent of women who struggle with depression and anxiety after childbirth.
Postpartum depression is reported to affect one in five women and one in ten men.
"The exciting thing about this drug is its an oral drug,” said Glenda Gray, who is the president and CEO of the Medical Research Council.
“It works within three days. If you take it for two weeks, it will have an effect for up to 42 days. Although this is an exciting drug, the most important thing about postpartum depression is to diagnose it.
"Often depression is very stigmatised because you are supposed to be happy after you have your baby so women may not realise that they have depression and if they have depression, they may be embarrassed to tell anyone.
"A lot of health care workers don't diagnose postpartum depression, so sometimes the woman may not know what is happening to her."
