In Brief: Improving Care for New Mothers with Severe Psychiatric Illness
NPR just aired a short story about a young woman who experienced postpartum psychosis after the birth of her first child. It was a short article but it brought up several important themes. The article highlights the importance of recognizing postpartum psychosis. While we have worked hard to increase awareness of postpartum depression, the article questions whether healthcare providers are equipped to recognize and deal with postpartum psychosis. The report alludes [...]
Perinatal Depression and Anxiety: How Long Does It Last?
In the earliest studies, postpartum depression was described an episode of depression associated with childbirth, typically emerging within the first three months after delivery. As more research has been carried out, we have learned that a sizeable number of women with PPD actually begin to experience symptoms during pregnancy. The bottom line is that women with PPD are a heterogeneous group, and several recent studies have attempted to identify and characterize [...]
In Brief: DHEA and Sexual Functioning in Premenopausal Women
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a steroid hormone produced by humans. It functions as a metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of the androgen and estrogen sex steroids. In a recent study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), researchers reported that DHEA treatment was associated with improvements in sexual function in premenopausal, infertile women with poor sexual function. The researchers were cautious in reporting these findings, [...]
Weekly Roundup for JANUARY 18, 2019: Recent Publications in Women’s Mental Health
The first two articles look at the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children exposed to SSRIs during pregnancy. We will review these studies in greater detail next week. They both indicate that the use of antidepressants during pregnancy does not increase risk for ASD; however, the studies suggest that the risk of ASD is greater in mothers with more severe depression. Also on the list is the largest meta-analysis [...]
Maternal Depression, But Not Exposure to SSRIs, Associated with Worse Executive Functioning in Children
While we have considerable data on the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy, most of this research focuses on the risk of congenital malformations in exposed children. We have far less information regarding the long-term effects of SSRI antidepressants on neurodevelopmental outcomes in exposed children. A recent study looks at executive functioning in children at six years of age, measuring the impact of exposure to SSRIs, as well [...]
Oral Allopregnanolone Analogue for Postpartum Depression Treatment
In 2015, we first reported on SAGE-547 (SAGE Therapeutics), a new medication for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD). SAGE-547, now called brexanolone, is a neurosteroid, an analogue of allopregnanolone and an allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors. Since that time, Sage Therapeutics has conducted three randomized controlled trials, enrolling a total of 247 women diagnosed with moderate to severe postpartum depression. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory [...]