With her first daughter, Ophelia, McMahon downloaded an app to her phone to excitedly track the baby's month-by-month development, and the pair often would go on playdates with friends.
Late one night in 2021, when McMahon had put her daughters to bed but couldn't fall asleep, she searched the Internet for some help. She Googled her symptoms: loss of energy, crying spells, inability to sleep.McMahon, who was by then four months postpartum, immediately signed up to participate in a phase three trial of zuranolone, a postpartum depression medication.
In the latest trial, researchers from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health and other U.S. institutions examined the efficacy and safety of a 50-milligram dose of zuranolone among the 196 women, who were between the ages of 18 and 45. Within the group, 21.9% of the women were Black, and 38.3% were Hispanic.
Some of the women given zuranolone reported drowsiness, dizziness or sedation. Among the 98 who were given zuranolone, 16 reduced their dosage from 50 to 40 milligrams due to those side effects.