The first pill for postpartum depression is finally getting to patients. Doctors say it’s working. ( www.nbcnews.com )

Psychiatrists are writing the first prescriptions for zuranolone, which got approved last year.

It was supposed to be an exciting time. The new mother had just given birth at age 42, after a much-desired pregnancy. But within a week, she developed postpartum depression.

The medical condition — characterized by extreme sadness, anxiety or despair following childbirth — affects up to 1 in 5 women.

At five months postpartum, the woman was stuck in a haze, said Dr. Misty Richards, medical director of perinatal psychiatry at the Maternal Outpatient Mental Health Services Clinic at UCLA Health, who treated the patient and described her experience to NBC News.