Round 4: What Developments in the Field Are You Hoping to See in the Next Year or so?

Listen to our experts discuss their hopes for the future in the field of PPD and patient care in the fourth and final round of this debate.

Transcript:

Dr Jennifer Payne: Hi everyone. Thank you for joining us for round four of our Great Debates in Psychiatry Series, where we will share our thoughts on what we'd like to see in the future of psychiatry and postpartum depression. Dr Barrett, would you like to start?

Dr Melanie Barrett: Yes, thank you. It's an exciting time in the field. I've been able to be part of a team the last several years to deliver Brexanolone to many women and be able to see really the life-changing results that can happen when postpartum depression is treated quickly and fully. I'm excited with the recent FDA approval of an oral version of a medication for postpartum depression, zuranolone alone to hopefully be able to increase access to care and collaborate with colleagues in different fields to be able to identify and treat postpartum depression.

Dr Jennifer Payne: I completely agree with you that the development of new medications with new mechanisms of action is an incredibly exciting development in our field. I think there are two other areas that I'm excited about. One is that I've seen more and more of a team-based approach to identifying, preventing, and treating postpartum depression. You mentioned the collaborative care model, and it's a wonderful model for us to really aspire to across the country; to identify these cases and increase the amount of women who are being treated. The second thing is I really do think we can start to think about identifying women as high-risk and preventing postpartum depression rather than having to act in an urgent or emergent fashion and treat postpartum depression once it's developed. If we could prevent the onset of this mental illness, it'll be better, not only for the women but for the entire family. So those are the things I'm excited about. This has really been an interesting and exciting time and discussion in psychiatry. It sounds like we are both looking forward to some fantastic and positive breakthroughs in the future of postpartum depression.
Once again, I'd like to thank my colleague, Dr Barrett, for this excellent discussion, and thank you all for joining us. We'll see you next time for our closing arguments.