Federal health officials in the U-S have approved the first pill specifically intended to treat severe depression after childbirth.
The Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug is based on two company studies that showed women who took Zurzuvae had fewer signs of depression over a four- to six-week period.
Dr. Kristina Deligiannidis, with the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, says Zuranolone helps alleviate long-term suffering.
Current treatment includes counselling or antidepressants, which can take weeks to work and don't help everyone.
Postpartum depression affects an estimated 400-thousand new mothers a year, and while it often ends on its own within a couple weeks, it can continue for months or even years.