A natural supplement, invented and developed by a team of Canadian researchers, has been shown to help prevent postpartum blues and reduce symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth, according to a new study.
The study, published Wednesday in the Lancet journal eClinicalMedicine, discovered that among the over 100 participants who received four doses of the natural supplement within several days after childbirth, two-thirds (66 per cent) experienced either no symptoms or only minor symptoms of postpartum blues.
“Both postpartum blues and later symptoms of depression were lower in women who received the supplement,” said Jeffrey Meyer, the senior author and senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). “Providing this supplement in the first few days after giving birth is a crucial window to avoid depressive symptoms which is important given there is considerable risk that they may recur and have a lifelong impact.”
Postpartum blues (also referred to as the ‘baby blues’) is a frequent syndrome of sad mood, crying spells, anxiety, restlessness, reduced appetite, and irritability, typically peaking on day five of postpartum, according to the study. When severe, Meyer said it greatly increases the risk for later postpartum depression.
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Postpartum depression (PPD) is different than the baby blues, according to CAMH, and is a deeper depression that lasts much longer. It usually starts within the first month after childbirth (although it can occur at any time within the first year) and can last weeks to months. In more serious cases, it can develop into chronic episodes of depression.
National survey data from 2019 found 23 per cent of new mothers in Canada experienced symptoms of postpartum depression or anxiety after childbirth.
Diane Francoeur, CEO of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), said what is interesting about the Lancet study is that it focuses on a window after a baby is born, which is typically around day five of postpartum when postpartum blues can set in.
“If you look at the baby blues, on day five, after you have your baby, this is when you get home, you realize such things like the big challenges of breastfeeding and usually the support system may dry up at this time,” she said. “The real depression sets in because this is when the chemistry’s not on your side anymore when your brain is not working.”
How can the supplement mitigate postpartum blues?
Meyer told Global News he has been researching postpartum blues for more than 15 years, which led to the latest development of the natural supplement.
In 2009, his imaging research found that a protein called MAO-A rises dramatically in the brains of postpartum women. This protein removes important brain chemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine, that support normal mood. It also acts as an oxidant and is linked to the development and progression of certain mental illnesses.
“MAO-A has several properties, and one of them is that it removes brain chemicals like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, and in doing so, it does the opposite of an antioxidant,” he said. “The supplement was designed to counter these effects by having an antioxidant in the supplement, as well as the building blocks to serotonin and norepinephrine dopamine.”
The supplement, he said, is made of blueberry extract, which contains antioxidants, and amino acids called tryptophan and tyrosine. He said these replenish essential neurochemicals in the brain to support a healthy mood and the ability to concentrate under stress.
Once the supplement was developed, the researchers put it to the test and enrolled more than 100 postpartum participants in Toronto between January 2019 and December 2022. The participants either took four doses of the natural supplement several days after giving birth or a matching placebo.
“It is designed to be taken between the night of day three and the morning of day five. So it’s four administrations,” Meyer said. “So it’s a small window of time from when postpartum blues starts to emerge. And it’s an opportunity with a very short period to take the supplement.”
The study found that within the supplement group, two-thirds experienced either no symptoms or only negligible symptoms of postpartum blues. And in the following six months, participants who received the supplement experienced fewer symptoms of depression with none reaching the clinical threshold of postpartum depression six months after giving birth.
According to the study, the researchers previously showed that the amino acids in the supplement do not affect their total concentrations in breast milk, which was expected since these amino acids are already found in proteins in breast milk.
Francoeur said she is happy to see the study’s results, and although she believes that added antioxidants, like blueberry juice, cannot fully resolve postpartum depression, “at least we’re looking at it from a scientific basis.”
Is it available in Canada?
The supplement, branded as ‘Blues Away‘, is set to hit the shelves in the U.S. starting this Thursday and will be available on Amazon’s U.S. site.
However, Meyer said the supplement is also being introduced to other global markets, including Canada, with the speed of approvals contingent on each country’s regulatory mandates and review processes.
“Health Canada has been approached, but the issue is that they need to see the study, which of course just came out today,” he said. “We certainly hope that Health Canada will approve the product, but we’ll hear their feedback and of course try to address their questions.”
Global News reached out to Health Canada for comment about the approval of the supplement but did not hear back at the time of publication.
“Postpartum depression is a really important issue and one that’s underfunded for research and one that’s not really been addressed as much as it could be,” Meyer said. “And the supplement seemed like a great possibility and opportunity. And so I’m very happy with the results that we reported.”
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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