A single day of inhaled psychedelic treatment may relieve postpartum depression symptoms, with effects lasting for a week, early research suggests.

Postpartum depression is a severe mood disorder that affects women after giving birth. Symptoms can include extreme sadness, anxiety, changes in sleep and eating habits and difficulty bonding with a baby.

The condition affects up to one in five mothers globally. If untreated, it can have lasting effects on a mother’s psychological wellbeing and a child’s cognitive development.

Standard antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a common type of antidepressant, often take four to six weeks to start working.

They can also cause side effects including weight gain, nausea and sexual dysfunction.

The only medication specifically approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for postpartum depression is zuranolone. It works faster than standard antidepressants but requires a 14-day daily course and carries warnings about drowsiness.

Researchers are exploring psychoactive compounds as possible alternatives for faster relief.

Mebufotenin, also known as 5-MeO-DMT, is a psychedelic compound that acts on serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical messenger involved in functions including mood, sleep and digestion.

Previous early-stage trials found that an inhaled synthetic formulation called GH001 produced very rapid antidepressant effects in people with treatment-resistant depression.

Lead authors Martin Johnson of St Pancras Clinical Research and Kristina M. Deligiannidis of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research investigated whether the treatment could safely help women with severe postpartum depression.

The trial assessed its safety, side effects and impact on maternal functioning. It was funded by GH Research, the company developing the drug.

Researchers enrolled 10 women aged 18 to 45. All had major depressive disorder that began shortly before or after giving birth and were at least four weeks postpartum.

Participants also had to score at least 28 on a standard depression questionnaire, indicating moderate to severe depression.

Treatment was given on a single day using a specialised vaporisation system, with patients inhaling the medication from a collection balloon.

Doses were adjusted according to each woman’s response.

Participants first received 6mg. Those who tolerated the drug but did not experience a sufficiently intense psychoactive effect could receive 12mg one hour later, followed by 18mg after another hour if needed.

Researchers used a specialised scale to assess the intensity of the psychedelic experience, including feelings of losing control and how profound the experience felt.

Further doses were stopped once participants reached a predefined score.

Patients were monitored for changes in vital signs, psychiatric symptoms and overall comfort.

The psychedelic effects lasted for an average of around 20 to 25 minutes after each dose.

Participants also had to arrange for a trusted adult to care for their baby while they received treatment.

The main measure was the change in depression scores between the start of the study and day eight. Researchers also measured symptoms two hours after the final dose and on day two.

Four participants were lactating, allowing researchers to test their breast milk and assess how quickly the drug was eliminated from their bodies.

All 10 women experienced at least a 50 per cent reduction in depression symptoms two hours after their final dose.

By day eight, average depression scores had fallen by around 96 per cent and every participant met the study criteria for remission, meaning they no longer met the clinical threshold for depression.

Participants also reported improvements in maternal functioning.

Scores on a questionnaire assessing psychological wellbeing, self-care and mother-child interaction improved by around 56 per cent by day eight, with gains seen across almost all areas measured.

No serious adverse events were reported.

The most common side effect was mild to moderate headache, experienced by five of the 10 women.

The treatment did not cause lingering sedation and all participants were able to return home on the day they received it.

Among the four lactating women, levels of the drug and its byproducts in breast milk peaked around one hour after the final dose and fell below detectable levels after about 10 hours.

Researchers said this suggests mothers may only need to pause breastfeeding for a relatively short period on the day of treatment, although further research is needed before firm clinical recommendations can be made.

The trial was open-label, meaning both participants and researchers knew the active drug was being given.

There was no placebo comparison group, making it impossible to rule out the possibility that expectations about the treatment influenced the reported improvements.

The sample was also small and lacked demographic diversity, with nine of the 10 participants identified as white.

Almost none of the women were taking other psychiatric medications during the trial, meaning the findings may not reflect how a broader and more diverse group of mothers with postpartum depression would respond.

Researchers followed the women for only one week after treatment, leaving questions about how long the antidepressant effects may last.

Future studies will need to follow patients for several months to assess whether depression returns or additional doses are needed.

Larger trials will also need to randomly assign participants to receive either the active treatment or a placebo.

These studies will be needed to confirm the treatment’s safety and determine whether the drug itself is responsible for the rapid reduction in symptoms.

Yoga and omega-3 supplements may be as effective as talking therapies for pregnancy depression, a major review suggests.

Globally, nearly one in three pregnant women experience depression, but most receive no treatment.

When support is available, women are often directed towards talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, and mindfulness.

CBT is a structured talking therapy that helps people identify and change patterns of thought and behaviour affecting their mental health.

The review examined 115 clinical trials involving more than 12,000 participants across 30 countries.

It found that yoga, massage, omega-3 supplements and bright light therapy were broadly as effective as talking therapies at reducing depression symptoms during pregnancy.

Bright light therapy involves controlled exposure to bright light and is sometimes used to treat mood conditions.

The findings point to the importance of social support and increased connection, as all these approaches offer some element of contact or guided support.

Led by King’s College London, the research brought together trial evidence across every type and format of treatment for antenatal depression under a common framework.

Antenatal depression is depression that occurs during pregnancy.

The study was conducted as part of HappyMums, a European consortium led by the University of Milan that aims to improve mental health support during pregnancy and after birth.

Carmine Pariante, professor of biological psychiatry, said: “This is the most comprehensive analysis of treatments for depression in pregnancy ever conducted, and the findings should prompt a rethink of how we support women during this critical period.

“The evidence is clear that there is no single best approach. What matters is that women have access to a range of options, and that clinicians feel equipped to offer them.”

The researchers said yoga and omega-3 supplements could be legitimate treatment options, rather than stopgaps, for women on waiting lists or those who struggle to access mental health support.

However, the studies differed considerably in design, sample size and how results were measured, so the findings should be interpreted with care.

The team said non-psychological approaches could help women cope with long waits for care without ruling out other treatments alongside them.

Digital and online interventions, including apps and telephone-based support, were also found to be as effective as face-to-face treatment.

Researchers said this could affect how antenatal depression is managed, particularly for women who cannot travel or face long waits for in-person care.

The team found no randomised controlled trials of pharmaceutical treatments for antenatal depression, despite antidepressants being widely prescribed for depression outside pregnancy.

A randomised controlled trial is a study in which participants are randomly assigned to different treatment groups, allowing researchers to compare outcomes more fairly.

Evidence for drug treatment during pregnancy therefore relies on indirect research rather than trials carried out during pregnancy, reflecting long-standing caution around testing medicines in pregnant populations.

NICE guidelines recommend antidepressants for moderate to severe depression in pregnancy, while evidence from outside formal pregnancy trials suggests they can be safe and effective.

However, the researchers said trials are still needed, particularly for women who cannot access or engage with other forms of support.

Riddhi Laijawala, trial manager and PhD student, said: “Depression in pregnancy is common, but it is not inevitable, and it is treatable. What this review shows is that the options available to women are broader than many people realise.

“A yoga class, music therapy, or an online programme may not sound like clinical treatment, but the evidence suggests they can make a real difference, and for many women they may be easier (and quicker) to access than a course of therapy.”

Depression during pregnancy affects an estimated 28.5 per cent of pregnant people worldwide, but only around one in five receives appropriate and timely treatment.

The team said closing this treatment gap should be a priority for health systems because the condition can affect both parent and child.

The HappyMums project is supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

Nearly six in ten young women get health and wellness advice from influencers, new research shows.

Women aged 18 to 29 were more likely than young men to use online influencers for health information.

The topics included beauty, alternative medicine, mental health, weight loss and fitness.

The Pew Research study found that 57 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 said they get health and wellness information from online influencers, 10 percentage points higher than young men.

While Americans still mostly rely on healthcare providers, the research suggests social media influencers also play a major role in how young people find health advice.

Among women who get health and wellness information from influencers, 51 per cent said they often hear about beauty and appearance, compared with 18 per cent of men.

Young women were also around twice as likely as young men to say they see content about alternative medicine, meaning treatments or health practices used outside mainstream medical care.

A third or more of both young men and young women said they often hear about mental health and weight loss from influencers.

Around half or more of both groups said they often see fitness content.

When asked why they seek health and wellness information from influencers, around half of young women said they wanted to make a change to their health or lifestyle.

That compared with 37 per cent of young men.

The research also found that 23 per cent of young women said hearing from people who share their background or beliefs was one reason they used influencers, compared with 14 per cent of young men.

A further 19 per cent of young women said they learnt about things they did not want to ask their doctor, compared with 10 per cent of young men.