Photo Credit: iStock.com/SDI Productions

The following is a summary of “Real-world pharmacotherapy treatment patterns among patients diagnosed with postpartum depression in the United States,” published in the June 2025 issue of BMC Psychiatry by Miller et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to characterize psychiatric medication use for postpartum depression (PPD) in real-world settings.  

They examined 2 cohorts diagnosed with PPD within 180 days of delivery from October 2015 to January 2022 using 2 U.S. claims databases, Symphony Health (SH) and Myriad Genetics-Komodo Health (MGKH). Prescription (Rx) fills for select psychiatric medications were evaluated over 365 days post-diagnosis using pharmacy claims.  

The results showed the 2 cohorts SH, MGKH included 1,24,742 and 22,141 patients with PPD, respectively. Most patients (SH: 64.9%, MGKH: 76.4%) filled at least 1 Rx within a year post-diagnosis; among these, 76.4% in SH and 62.7% in MGKH discontinued treatment at least once. Medication changes were frequent, with 16.6% in SH and 18.3% in MGKH, filling 3 or more unique psychiatric medications. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) accounted for 72.2% of first-line treatments, with sertraline being the most common first-line SSRI (39.4% in SH, 41.4% in MGKH). No single medication or class dominated later-line therapies.  

Investigators concluded that pharmacotherapy forpostpartum depression involved varied treatment patterns with frequent discontinuation and switching, indicating that first-line therapies often failed, and multiple medication trials were needed for symptom improvement. 

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-025-06977-z