@@FDA approves first pill for postpartum depression

[underwaterrhymes]

This is great news:

www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/first-pill-postpartum-depression-fda-approval-rcna97731

I fully believe if men had babies, this would have happened a long time ago.

[heygrey]

I'm glad they are making strides to help women with PPD. We still need better screening to actually get this medication into the hands (and bodies) of women who need it. I was severely depressed, but I wasn't able to articulate that and probably would have resisted medication if it required me to stop breastfeeding.

[lilac05]

Aug 4, 2023 21:10:26 GMT -5 heygrey said:

I'm glad they are making strides to help women with PPD. We still need better screening to actually get this medication into the hands (and bodies) of women who need it. I was severely depressed, but I wasn't able to articulate that and probably would have resisted medication if it required me to stop breastfeeding.

I agree with the need for better screening. In my experience, doctors just flew through the depression screening questions so quickly that I barely knew they had asked them. It was really easy to just breeze past them. I appeared happy and healthy, so I think the doctors just assumed I was fine. Looking back, I wasn’t…and I didn’t even know it.

[Bernadine]

I like to throw this out whenever PPD is discussed- my major symptom was rage. I attributed that to lack of sleep until I read something online. I started an anti-depressant and it was like night and day. I had no idea that was a symptom of depression.

This is great news!

[icedcoffee]

This is a huge step but we for sure need to promote other pills that are BFing friendly that can help because unfortunately needing to stop nursing will stop a log of people from getting the help they need and deserve and there are BFing friendly options!

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2023 8:41:46 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

This is a huge step but we for sure need to promote other pills that are BFing friendly that can help because unfortunately needing to stop nursing will stop a log of people from getting the help they need and deserve and there are BFing friendly options!

I don’t think it’s because this new pill isn’t safe to take while breastfeeding, but because they haven’t specifically tested it for BFing so they can’t say for sure that it IS safe. Very few medications are actually tested for BFing safety (because it’s super-hard to actually test without risking harm to babies).

I completely agree with you though. As much as BFing is being pushed now, they need to make it a priority to ensure medications are safe to use while BFing.

[sillygoosegirl]

I'm confused. I thought I knew tons of women who took antidepressants postpartum and still breastfed.

[abs]

Aug 5, 2023 8:41:46 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

This is a huge step but we for sure need to promote other pills that are BFing friendly that can help because unfortunately needing to stop nursing will stop a log of people from getting the help they need and deserve and there are BFing friendly options!

Yes but also there should be more discussion that formula is great, too. Using it isn’t a failure and do many new mothers still feel like it is.

[basilosaurus]

Aug 5, 2023 10:06:59 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

I'm confused. I thought I knew tons of women who took antidepressants postpartum and still breastfed.

I think it's more that the range of studied and approved is very limited. They may be switched from what worked before pregnancy to something else. Zoloft is the one I see most frequently. That never worked for me as a never pregnant, so I'm all for expanding the repertoire.

[wanderingback]

Aug 5, 2023 10:06:59 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

I'm confused. I thought I knew tons of women who took antidepressants postpartum and still breastfed.

Yes there are antidepressants you can take while breastfeeding.

[beetea]

Aug 5, 2023 10:26:34 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 5, 2023 8:41:46 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

This is a huge step but we for sure need to promote other pills that are BFing friendly that can help because unfortunately needing to stop nursing will stop a log of people from getting the help they need and deserve and there are BFing friendly options!

Yes but also there should be more discussion that formula is great, too. Using it isn’t a failure and do many new mothers still feel like it is.

100% agree with this. After several years of IF, I had 2 under 2. I was SO determined to deliver my babies w/o any meds and successfully breastfeed. I'm thankful both of those things worked out or I don't know where I'd be right now. It wasn't until my youngest was nearly a year old that I got treatment for PPD/PPA. My therapist was basically like, "Girl, you have been hormonally compromised for going on 7 years. How did your doctor not talk to you about this?" I started Zoloft right away. Even with therapy, I still wouldn't have been in the right mindset to take something I new I desperately needed if it meant I would have had to stop breastfeeding. Even with a one year old. My youngest is almost 14 now and it's taken me YEARS to understand what how my brain was processing/obsessing back then. 

[wanderingback]

Hopefully this will be affordable for both major depression and postpartum depression.

And hopefully they’re working on breastfeeding data. Typically breast milk is tested to help give some data. The mechanism of the med though does seem like if there are significant amounts in breast milk then it might not be best for young babies since it causes sleepiness and dizziness.

Whether you agree or not breastfeeding is important to some people and so this might not be the best option for them if they want to continue breastfeeding. Thankfully there are other options that we know are safe for the baby with breastfeeding.

We definitely need more postpartum supports to provide people with care and options if they’re anxious or depressed.

[Patsy Baloney]

I don’t think it’s as easy as saying, “We should help parents change their general attitudes toward formula feeding,” to encourage people to utilize a medicine that may have an impact on continued breastfeeding. Beyond importance to the individual, formula has massive barriers to it. Cost is number one. Acquisition is another. Remember when the supply chain collapsed and people couldn’t find formula?

I remember reading those stories and being so grateful that my time in the trenches had passed and I didn’t have to endure that awful shortage.

In a perfect world, none of these things (medicines, formula) would have barriers and there would be many options on all fronts for all parents.

[wanderingback]

Aug 6, 2023 22:49:21 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

I don’t think it’s as easy as saying, “We should help parents change their general attitudes toward formula feeding,” to encourage people to utilize a medicine that may have an impact on continued breastfeeding. Beyond importance to the individual, formula has massive barriers to it. Cost is number one. Acquisition is another. Remember when the supply chain collapsed and people couldn’t find formula?

I remember reading those stories and being so grateful that my time in the trenches had passed and I didn’t have to endure that awful shortage.

In a perfect world, none of these things (medicines, formula) would have barriers and there would be many options on all fronts for all parents.

Agreed!
I breastfeed not because I think formula is bad but for the practical reasons of breastfeeding that it’s free, rather convenient and does have health benefits for my daughter (antibodies) and for myself (evidence at reduced rates of some cancers).

We supplemented for the first week or 2 until she got the hang of latching. We actually saw a NP in our pediatricians office the day after we got home and she immediately said supplement with formula, I certainly wasn’t pushed to breastfeed exclusively. Even the home visit with the lactation consultants reviewed how to supplement with formula and said of course formula is ok. And I know with my own patients and in my clinic we tell all parents that formula is perfectly fine! I’m sorry that some people were pushed to not provide formula because that is not ok.

I think there can be confusion because just because someone is very pro breastfeeding (like myself) that doesn’t mean they’re anti-formula.

I tried looking in to it more but still don’t see info about plans for studying breast milk with this new medication, maybe info hasn’t been released yet? It’s definitely an important consideration!

[abs]

My point was more many women can’t breastfeed for a variety of reasons. I was one of those and ooof the feelings that came from that. I am probably not articulating it properly but I would have been better off taking something for my anxiety than trying to make bf work when it clearly wasn’t going to.

The larger issue of course is our society makes being a new mother basically impossible anyways with zero support systems. Unfortunately I don’t see that changing.

[chickadee77]

Aug 7, 2023 9:16:15 GMT -5 abs said:

My point was more many women can’t breastfeed for a variety of reasons. I was one of those and ooof the feelings that came from that. I am probably not articulating it properly but I would have been better off taking something for my anxiety than trying to make bf work when it clearly wasn’t going to.

The larger issue of course is our society makes being a new mother basically impossible anyways with zero support systems. Unfortunately I don’t see that changing.

I feel you. I struggled so hard with my first. My PPD was actually picked up by the pediatrician, who basically commanded me to call my OB, who was amazing and immediately prescribed and called me in for an additional follow-up (she was an amazing doctor and person all around, and told me she felt terrible that she couldn't call all of her patients in for more follow-ups due to insurance etc.) I just didn't produce enough milk, and the feelings that came with that were terrible. I'd already had two late m/c, and I felt like a failure as a mother right put of the gate.

I tried so hard to BF with my second, but quit much more quickly because I already knew I probably wasn't going to produce. I still had all the feelings, even my second time, but it was a little easier since I'd already traveled that road once.

[pugz]

That is great! I think I've mentioned before that one of my friends went through it really badly and she connected up with a state legislator a few years after and introduced a bill that the pediatricians have to screen the moms in her state since women see those doctors way more than their own in the weeks/months after birth.

[BlondeSpiders]

I just found this today and while I can't verify it, I would not be surprised if it were true. The anti-formula feeling can be so strong in some circles (not here!)

[leshoequeen]

Aug 7, 2023 9:16:15 GMT -5 abs said:

My point was more many women can’t breastfeed for a variety of reasons. I was one of those and ooof the feelings that came from that. I am probably not articulating it properly but I would have been better off taking something for my anxiety than trying to make bf work when it clearly wasn’t going to.

The larger issue of course is our society makes being a new mother basically impossible anyways with zero support systems. Unfortunately I don’t see that changing.

I completely understand and felt very similar. My PPD/A was exasperated by my inability to breastfeed. The pressure was so immense with my first that I told everyone who would listen that I was absolutely not breastfeeding when I had my second. I knew my body wasn’t going to cooperate and could not go through another bout of PPD if I could help it. Thankfully it did help some, although I did ultimately end up in therapy and on Zoloft.