Zuranolone, is a new medication for the treatment of postnatal depression. You may have heard about it recently as the actor Jennifer Lawrence spoke about using it after having her second child and said it helped lift her mood rapidly.
It is a really important treatment option as not only is it the first treatment specifically targeted to treat depression in the postnatal period but also the way the drug works is unusual because it works quickly and is given over 14 days.
Postnatal Depression: why it matters
We know that mental health problems are common in the perinatal period as they are at other times of life but that depression is often under-recognised postnatally. In the first year after birth, around 15–20% of women experience depression and anxiety and for some of these women it will be really severe.
The depressive symptoms each person experiences will be unique to them but for some women postnatal depression can cause rapid and severe mood changes with low mood, a loss of enjoyment in life and can really impact their day to day life and even lead to thoughts of self-harm.
This is clearly a really hard thing to be experiencing whilst also being a new parent and it can impact on a woman’s sense of herself as a partner, parent and socially.
How does Zuranolone work?
The current options for medication we can prescribe, such as SSRIs like Sertraline or Citalopram, can take 4-6 weeks to begin to improve symptoms and so Zuranolone offers a choice that may work much more quickly.
Zuranolone is a neuroactive steroid which is believed to work on GABA receptors in the brain.
GABA is one of the brain’s chemical messengers. GABA works by preventing or blocking chemical messages and so it decreases the stimulation of nerve cells in the brain.
There are two types of GABA receptors on nerve cells — GABA-A and GABA-B and when GABA binds to these receptors the net result is that they decrease the responsiveness of our nerve cells.
GABA is often described as being like an off switch or putting on the brakes and the feelings it promotes for us are of calm, reduced anxiety and lowered stress and it can also help promote better sleep.
Zuranolone is a synthetic form of allopregnanolone, a steroid chemical messenger which is produced by our bodies and drops significantly over the first 3 days after giving birth.
Therefore the aim of Zuranolone is to avoid this drop in levels of hormones and to promote calm and relaxation in the brain and keep our moods feeling more steady.
What’s the evidence?
There have been several careful trials with zuranolone including the SKYLARK and ROBIN studies. In the ROBIN study for example, women with postnatal depression received 30mg of zuranolone daily for 14 days and they showed a significant reduction in their depressive symptoms measured on scores, and as early as three days into the treatment.
However, as Zuranolone is so new we don’t have many studies that show the long term effects of the treatment and whether it treats depressive symptoms in the longer term after even one course.
How is it taken?
Zuranolone is taken orally once daily at night for 14 days and its recommended to be taken with a high fat meal.
The commonest side effects reported are dizziness, sleepiness, headache and diarrhoea.
The studies to date suggest that it is safe to take whilst breastfeeding which of course if often something new mothers want to know.
Where can I find Zuranolone in the UK?
A lot of the news around Zuranolone has focussed on its cost, which is a staggering $15,900 per 14-day course.
In the UK the MHRA approved Zuranolone for use in August 2025 but NICE, who decide which drugs can be prescribed in the UK within the NHS have not yet made a final decision about Zuranolone and are currently considering the cost-effectiveness for the NHS.
So, as yet it’s not being prescribed widely at all but hopefully it will be available as an option for women in the UK over the next few years. As with any treatment it’s important we offer women all the choices and options and so this will soon add another option for treatment.
