One in eight women experiences symptoms of postpartum depression following childbirth, including feelings of sadness, guilt and worthlessness, and in severe cases, thoughts of harming themselves or their newborns.

The FDA recently approved the first oral drug specifically developed to treat maternal mental health, called Zurzuvae. The pill is supposed to be taken for 14 days.

In a blow to the drugmaker, however, the FDA did not approve its use for treating depression more broadly.

Drugged Senseless

We've all seen the commercials touting new drugs for treating life's myriad ills. Most of them have catchy names lacking obvious meaning. (See above.) What they do have in abundance are visuals that arguably distract from government-mandated safety messages such as reporting side effects.

Federal regulators are now considering requiring drug commercials to include subtitles that spell out safety concerns, though that won't address a larger issue. In a January study, researchers found that fewer than one-third of commonly advertised drugs had high therapeutic value, meaning only a fraction worked moderately better than existing therapies.

At least the drug-takers looked like they were healthy and having fun.

Get Me That, Stat!

More than 5.6 million women in the U.S. live in counties with no or limited access to maternity care, according to the March of Dimes.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (1705-1790) was, among many things, a prolific writer and publisher, perhaps best remembered for his annual "Poor Richard's Almanack." He also published (and perhaps authored) "The Drinker's Dictionary," which contained more than 200 synonyms for the word "drunk."

Among them: bowz'd, bungey, crump-footed, fuzl'd, hammerish, niptopsical, raddled, swampt and water-soaken.

Doc Talk

Anxiogenic — anything that prompts feelings of anxiety

Mania of the Week

Gamomania — an obsession with issuing odd marriage proposals or an extreme desire to be married

Never say 'Diet'

The Major League Eating record for Purim holiday cookies is 50 in six minutes, held by Eric Booker. When congratulated on the feat, Booker replied, "Don't hamantashen it."

Best Medicine

Two toddlers are sitting in a urologist's office.

One toddler asks the other, "What are you here for?"

The second toddler replies, "Circumcision."

"Good luck with that," says the first toddler. "I had mine done when I was born. Couldn't walk for a year."

Observation

"The two biggest sellers in any bookstore are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it." — American writer and TV personality Andy Rooney (1919-2011)

Medical History

This week in 1492, explorer Christopher Columbus noted in his journal the use of tobacco among native Americans. Here's the recorded reference: "I found a man alone in a canoe who was going from the island of Santa Maria to Fernandina, and was carrying a little of his bread, water ... and some dry leaves which must be a thing very much appreciated among them because they had already brought me some of them as a present at San Salvador."

Later, Columbus would more clearly note that inhabitants enjoyed smoking the leaves.

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, and yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "Wombats detected from space."

Not to be confused with Ewoks and other furry alien beings, the paper published in the journal Remote Sensing of the Environment described how to use satellites to monitor the numbers and whereabouts of these burrowing animals found in Australia.

Med School

Q: Why do people, particularly as they get older, make sounds when sitting down or getting up?

A: Both sitting down and getting up involve the abdomen's core muscles, which tend to become weaker with age. In using them, older persons may unconsciously hold their breath in an attempt to augment muscle strength. The grunting sound is what happens when breathing is resumed.

That's not the only reason, however. In some cases, groans and moans are the product of discomfort, stiffness or pain. The sound is reflexive, a signal that one's having a bit of trouble. It might also be presumptive, produced in anticipation of trouble.

Curtain Calls

Dave Freeman, co-author of the best-selling guide "100 Things to Do Before You Die" (such as running with the bulls and bungee jumping) died in 2008 after tripping on hallway carpet in his Los Angeles home and striking his head. He was 47.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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