The birth of her son should have been a happy time for this new mother. But Bari battled with postpartum depression for the first three months after she delivered her baby boy.
Her depression and generalized anxiety disorder, of which she had a history, also plummeted to new depths of despair postpartum.
When Bari learned about Zulresso, the first intravenous drug for the treatment of postpartum depression to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), she and her doctor began researching where she could go to get treatment in Southern California, where she lives. Several locations offered the drug, but none was a hospital.
“I didn’t feel comfortable about getting this treatment outside of a hospital. They told me that UC Davis Medical Center offered Zulresso. I thought that was a good option,” Bari said.
Within a couple of weeks, she had a telehealth appointment with Shannon Clark from the UC Davis Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division, who assessed her and approved her for the treatment.
“The nurses were incredible and Dr. Clark was amazing,” Bari said. “Dr. Clark has a background and familiarity with postpartum depression. It wasn’t just any doctor giving me the medicine. She understood and made me feel comfortable.”
