Structured exercise routine can protect against postnatal depression

April 2, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

Following a structured exercise routine after pregnancy has been shown for the first time to reduce the likelihood of postnatal depression.

Researchers at Angliss Hospital and the University of Melbourne, Australia have shown for the first time that new mothers can reduce their risk of postnatal depression by up to 50 percent with a specialized guided exercise routine.

Postnatal depression is a special type of depression that affects as much as 13 percent of new mothers within the first three months after the delivery of their child. Typical symptoms include anxiety, appetite changes, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, reduced libido and sadness.

Researchers looked at 161 postnatal women who reported never having depressive symptoms, splitting them into two groups: a “Mother and Baby” group that focused on a special guided exercise routine and parenting education, and another “Education Only” group that only received written educational information and exercise suggestions for home use.

In the “Mother and Baby” group, the women worked with a physiotherapist to perform a special set of exercises “appropriate for the women’s level of function”, including baby massage, fitball use, pelvic floor exercises and vertical push ups.

The researchers found that after three months of the special programs, the women in the “Mother and Baby” group had half the risk of postnatal depression, compared to the women who may or may not have exercised on their own at home.

Professor Mary Galea, lead author of the study, commented on the results, saying: “This program can reduce the risk of postnatal depression, and women who are referred to such a program will have less chance of developing the illness. It is important that mothers exercise and exercise safely, but it is a bit hard for them to go to a gym because it is not the right environment.

“One of the key things is having the exercises supervised by a women’s health physiotherapist who understands the needs of postnatal women. It is very important that those exercises are taught properly and that they are done properly, because this can lead to the prevention of other nasty things down the track.”

The researchers noted that the effects of the program lasted four weeks after it was finished. “However, further study is needed to explore whether the intervention effects and improved wellbeing are maintained beyond the first three months,” said Galea.

The study results appear in the March issue of the scientific journal Physical Therapy.