AUSTIN, Texas — In this week's "Your Mental Health" segment, Spectrum News National Mental Health Correspondent Dr. Nicole Cross is taking a closer look at postpartum depression. Health experts are urging state Medicaid agencies and insurance companies to make sure all mothers have equitable access to Zurzuvae, the first FDA-approved pill to treat postpartum depression, also referred to as PPD.

What You Need To Know

  • Postpartum depression is a type of clinical depression that is brought on by hormonal changes in the brain during pregnancy or within four weeks after childbirth
  • One in eight women experience symptoms of postpartum depression, but only about 6% of diagnosed women receive treatment

  • The FDA recently approved the first oral medication to specifically treat postpartum depression. It's called Zurzuvae. It acts much faster, but it comes with a hefty price tag — nearly $16,000 per 14-day course without insurance

  • Health experts are pushing for Medicaid-managed care plans — and private insurers — to waive prior authorization requirements and other restrictions, such as “fail-first” approaches that require patients to try other drugs first

Key facts, according to the National Institutes of Health:

  • Postpartum depression is a type of clinical depression that is brought on by hormonal changes in the brain during pregnancy or within four weeks after childbirth
  • One in eight women experience symptoms of postpartum depression, but only about 6% of diagnosed women receive treatment
  • Symptoms include feeling sad, angry, overwhelmed or distant from your baby
  • Death by suicide accounts for 20% of PPD deaths

The good news is that postpartum depression is treatable. Treatment has focused on counseling and/or taking antidepressants which can take weeks to take effect. The FDA recently approved the first oral medication to specifically treat postpartum depression. It is called Zurzuvae. It acts much faster, but it comes with a hefty price tag — nearly $16,000 per 14-day course without insurance. Still, doctors say the results are undeniable.

Obstetrician Dr. Bassem Maximos said: “The response have been very satisfying as a physician and a clinician who sees his patients go through the debilitating effects of postpartum depression whether it’s inability to bond with their baby or isolation from their families, or inability to eat or sleep. We've seen results as early as three days after we give them the medications and we see them start bonding better with their baby. Their sleep improves, their appetite improves.”

Currently, Medicaid is covering the cost of Zurzuvae on a case-by-case basis, but less than 1% of the nation’s 1,000 private insurance companies have published coverage guidelines for the drug. Health experts are pushing for Medicaid managed care plans — and private insurers — to waive prior authorization requirements and other restrictions, such as “fail-first” approaches that require patients to try other drugs first.

If you think you may be experiencing postpartum depression, talk with your nurse or doctor and ask for support from family and friends. One of the best gifts for a new baby is an emotionally healthy mother. 

For support, call or text the Postpartum Support International helpline at 800-944-4773 for English and 971-203-7773 for Spanish, or visit its website.