Role of exercise interventions in antenatal depression

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Created On: 31/12/2024

Antenatal depression is a common concern among pregnant women. This study sought to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of exercise on antenatal depressive symptoms in pregnant females and to explore how various intervention factors influence this link.

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Key take away

Exercise interventions, particularly static exercises and those initiated before 20 weeks gestation, significantly improve antenatal depressive symptoms in pregnant women, with longer interventions proving more effective.

Background

Method

Researchers carried out extensive searches across multiple databases, including Cochrane Library and PubMed. After screening, 7 studies involving 524 participants were included in the meta-analysis.

Result

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a significant overall effect of exercise was found in reducing antenatal depressive symptoms, with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of -0.41. The effectiveness of exercise interventions on antenatal depression was influenced by several key factors: the type of exercise, the timing of the intervention, and its duration.

Static exercises, particularly yoga, illustrated markedly greater benefits in alleviating antenatal depression when compared to dynamic exercises. Additionally, interventions initiated before 20 weeks of gestation were found to be more useful than those started afterwards. Long-term exercise programs also showed slightly better results than short-term ones. While the results were promising, there was notable heterogeneity among studies (I² = 74%).

Conclusion

Exercise interventions dramatically lessen antenatal depressive symptoms, with static exercises being more beneficial than dynamic ones. Interventions before 20 weeks of gestation and those lasting longer than a trimester also showed superior outcomes. Future investigations with larger samples are warranted to refine exercise protocols for managing maternal mental health during pregnancy.