A new expensive drug is not enough; we need humane, evidence-based maternity care, respect for the “fourth trimester,” months if not years of paid parental leave, and affordable child care.

It’s worth pointing out that the Zulresso study was small, involving 247 women, and that the drug maker was involved in its design and interpretation. Some of the participants were also on other antidepressants, which take much longer to kick in . And according to the lead physician on the study, Zulresso may work by “dampening neural activity,” which has startling echoes. More research is needed before we can be sure that this is not just the latest in a long line of drugs offered to women as a quick fix of middling efficacy , with the potential for unexpected side effects.

We’d be foolish to believe that any drug is the magic fix that will once and for all end the metaphysical conundrum of experiencing fear, sadness, anger and despair during the most vulnerable time of our lives.

Furthermore, let’s be real about who will have access to Zulresso: women with very good insurance, the ability to advocate for themselves, and the flexibility to leave home for three days for treatment. As Jennie Joseph, a Florida-based midwife and founder of the nonprofit organization Commonsense Childbirth, pointed out, “If you’re actually needy, in deep postpartum depression,” you’re “not going to be able to get yourself to the hospital. Where are you a few days after having a baby? You’re in your house being ignored.”

In an article for the National Women’s Health Network, one of the few watchdog groups that shun industry funding, two researchers wrote that if Zulresso becomes the go-to fix for postpartum depression, “the onus of treatment will remain where it’s always been, on individual mothers — hardly a revolution in postpartum care.”

If insurers are willing to throw down tens of thousands of dollars for a mother’s mental health, we can think of some alternatives that might have a better cost-benefit ratio: Six months paid leave. A live-in doula and a private sleep-training coach. Weekly massages and pelvic-floor rehab sessions. Relocation to a commune in the Bahamas.

In the meantime, we fear that Zulresso is just a stopgap , and yet another instance of pathologizing a very sane reaction to our very insane culture.