Grace Bagwell Adams, professor in the University of Georgia College of Public Health and lead author of the study, found that diagnoses of post-partum depression and SSRI prescriptions didn't increase during the Covid 19 pandemic. However, the research did show an increase in benzodiazepine prescriptions among postpartum women.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 518,000 privately insured postpartum women from January 2016 through December 2020. Despite an increase in anxiety and depression in the general population, researchers were not able to find any evidence of an increase in diagnoses of anxiety and depression among postpartum women.
On the other hand, benzodiazepine prescriptions among this population rose during the pandemic. Benzodiazepines are sometimes used as a stopgap when SSRIs have yet to take effect, but they aren't supposed to be used as a substitute for SSRIs.
The study also noted a likely increase of benzodiazepine prescriptions in combination with other medications like opioids. Research shows that opioid prescription for postpartum women increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Combining opioids with benzodiazepines can be deadly and the likelihood that postpartum women are taking both medications is high.
“For me, this study highlights more questions than answers,” Bagwell Adams said. “There’s something bigger happening here that is really disconcerting when it comes to treating women in general and postpartum women in particular.”
