For 1 in 5 women will experience it depression and anxiety during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth. If left untreated, a mother who has these conditions has a higher risk of complications at birthgenerally poorer health, reduced bonding and nurturing of her infant and higher risk of death by suicide.
But a new treatment is moving through Food and Drug Administration clinical trial process may be the key to treating, or even curing, postpartum depression and anxiety. It is a recently named psychedelic, lubesiloquin. It works like psilocin, the psychoactive chemical in psilocybin mushrooms. It may be able to positively impact the unique hormonal changes, brain changes and disconnection that can lead to these conditions like no existing treatment.
In previous studies of psilocybinresearchers observed rapid improvement in symptoms – and sometimes cure after one dose – of conditions such as major depression and PTSD. In a recent FDA Phase 2 study of lubesiloquin, we found similar improvements in postpartum depression.
I was the field researcher for the University of Colorado, one of the 35 participating sites across the US. The study involved 84 postpartum women who were within a year of giving birth and ended in May 2025.
I have spent my career as a board certified obstetrician-gynecologist studying how prenatal experience shapes lifetime health. I’ve also been keeping a close eye on psychedelic data. I was eager to find documented applications of psychedelics for pregnancy and postpartum, given the promise of these drugs in treatment other mental health conditions.
The effect of depression and anxiety on mothers and babies
A drug that has been studied and improved our understanding of how psychedelics work MDMAwhich is commonly known as ecstasy and causes euphoria.
According to peer-reviewed research Bessel van der Kolk in 2024, MDMA may lead to improvements in individuals to be able to identify, describe and feel their emotions. Other improvements resulting from MDMA-assisted therapy include more self-compassion and a greater desire and ability to connect with others.
Bonding, especially the earliest one between mother and infant, plays one of the most important roles in giving foundation for human development and flourishing. Postpartum depression is often defined by debonding and weakened welding.
Children born in mothers with untreated depression and anxiety have a higher risk of falling behind in early developmental milestones. They may also have behavioral concerns such as hyperactivity or ADHDand are more likely to withdraw from social activities. They tend to report physical complaints, such as body aches and pains in early childhood.
Children of mothers who were depressed or anxious during pregnancy are also at risk of these same conditions enter their teenage years. They have nearly double the risk from these conditions compared to adolescents whose mothers did not have untreated depression and anxiety. This pattern means depression and anxiety can become a multi-generational cycle. But this the cycle can be broken with adequate treatment and support.
Increased levels of the hormone oxytocin were found by researchers in the blood of depression study participants given MDMA, LSD and mescalinewhich are all psychedelic drugs. THE increase in oxytocin led to more feelings of trust, empathy and connection.
Oxytocin is a hormone produced in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland into the bloodstream. He plays a critical role in birth and infant feeding. It also helps with its wiring and configuration human social brains.
Oxytocin is important in mother-infant bonding. Conversely, early childhood stressors, such as a mother suffering from mental illness, lower oxytocin levels in children. This can contribute to adverse mental and physical health outcomes later in life.
In depression studies involving men, psilocybin did they don’t have that much of an impact like other psychedelic drugs to produce oxytocin. But there is reason to believe that oxytocin may play a greater role in postpartum patients because levels are higher during birth and lactation than in other phases of life.
FDA study of psilocybin-like drugs
In February 2026, the FDA granted luvesilocin state of the art treatment. This status is used to accelerate the development of promising new drugs for serious or life-threatening conditions. The drug received this status because our research found significant and rapid reductions in depression scores in those who received the treatment.
In the Phase 2 study77% of postpartum women who received a psychedelic dose, 30 mg luvesiloxin, had a significant improvement in postpartum depression. Overall, 71% had no symptoms of postpartum depression seven days after the psychedelic session.
The purpose of an FDA Phase 2 study is to determine the effectiveness of an experimental drug in a specific disease or condition. In this case, the study evaluates the effect of lubecilokin on scores and symptoms of postpartum depression. In the group that received the placebo, a small dose of the drug, more than half saw an improvement in their symptoms, but most still had some symptoms after seven days.
That’s it much higher response and remission rates from trials of existing drugs used to treat postpartum depression. Existing treatments include; selective serotonin reuptake inhibitorsknown as SSRIs, and a medicine called zuranolone. The latter is the only drug that has specifics FDA approved for postpartum depression.
Access to psychedelic treatments
In 2023, the Colorado legislature voted the Natural Medicine Health Law. It offers a legal route for people to take natural psychedelics, such as psilocybin mushrooms, in therapeutic settings. The first one natural medicine treatment centers opened early 2026. Some sites advertise cures for everything postpartum depression to birth trauma.
Oregon has a similar state-regulated program. Many other states have different paths to legal psychedelic-assisted treatments and the decriminalization of psilocybin-assisted therapy. Nationally, there has been a recent federal executive order to speed it up action to treat serious mental illness. The order included reference to the use of psychedelic drugs.
Looking forward to it
By the end of 2026, Phase 3 of the luvesilocin trial for postpartum depression is scheduled to begin. Phase 3 trials are conducted to confirm efficacy and further evaluate the overall risks and benefits of a new drug. Each phase is an important regulatory step before a drug can be approved and made available in clinical settings.
In Phase 3, 200 participants with postpartum depression will be recruited across all participating sites. While I am optimistic about the potential of this research, I believe that its value can only be ascertained through rigorous blinded clinical trials, objective data analysis, and conclusions and endorsement that are fully supported by the evidence.
Phase 3 will also include participants who are still breastfeeding. A study of luvesilocin during lactation in healthy volunteers showed very low levels of transmission from mother to breast milk. Thus, this medicine would be considered safe for breastfeeding.
Luvesiloquin may become a game-changing drug for the treatment of postpartum depression in a few more years. On a much larger scale, psychedelic medicine could elevate us collective prosperity and happinessreplacing systemic cycles of depression, anxiety, trauma and isolation with connection and compassion. These drugs could literally reframe how we approach trauma, addiction, and how we relate to one another.
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