Nearly one in five new moms experiences anxiety or depression during pregnancy or after giving birth. These conditions can lead to difficulty bonding with a newborn, or a higher risk of suicide, if left untreated.

But a new experimental treatment is giving some researchers hope. It's a psychoactive substance derived from mushrooms called luvesilocin.

In a recent set of FDA trials, a single dose of luvesilocin turned out to be highly effective – and worked more quickly – in improving patients' postpartum depression and anxiety.

Dr. Camille Hoffman is an OB-GYN and Professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz. She helped oversee an early clinical study of luvesilocin, and wrote about it for The Conversation.

Hoffman spoke with Erin O'Toole about what researchers found, and why luvesilocin may be a promising alternative to psychotherapy or prescription drugs that are often used to treat postpartum depression.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

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In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.