Medical Minute: Beating The Baby Blues

While the welcoming of a baby is usually one of the happiest times in a woman's life, for some new mothers, that is not always the case.

Postpartum depression can affect any new mother. Feelings of sadness and guilt have the ability to affect a new mother shortly after her baby is born.

Suicide related to postpartum depression accounts for 20% of deaths due to the condition and is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States.

The FDA has approved the first available treatment for postpartum depression, with the hope that it will help prevent and stop the effects of the dangerous health condition.

These two new treatment options come in two forms, an IV and a pill, which are now FDA approved.

Dr. Riah Patterson, a psychiatrist who specializes in women's mood disorders, shared why this new treatment could be groundbreaking in preventing and disabling the effects of postpartum depression.

"The idea that we can get people better in a matter of days or weeks is absolutely critical in this really delicate imperative timeframe. I see people who have dramatic changes in their mood who at first don't talk about their family or their baby at all, coming into the infusion and by the end are showing me photos," Patterson said.