The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved for the first time a pill to treat postpartum depression, a condition believed to affect around half a million women in the country every year.
The antidepressant drug, called zuranolone, is "the first oral medication indicated to treat postpartum depression (PPD) in adults," the FDA said in a statement.
"Until now, treatment for PPD was only available as an IV injection given by a health care provider in certain health care facilities," it added.
"About one in eight women experience PPD symptoms after a recent live birth, and among those reporting symptoms, 75 per cent go untreated," said Dr Asima Ahmad, the chief medical officer at Carrot Fertility, a healthcare company in Menlo Park, California.
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