New mothers can reduce the risk of developing postnatal depression if they can find time to exercise for more than an hour every week, according to a new study. Exercising for at least 80 minutes each week could also help reduce symptoms among new mothers who have depression or anxiety, researchers found. But they should balance exercise with their recovery from childbirth, experts said.
They could restart exercise with “gentle” walks, which they can do with their babies, and then increase to “moderate” activity when they are ready, they added. This moderate physical activity could include brisk walking, water aerobics, stationary cycling or resistance training, according to a team of academics in Canada. The researchers pooled data from available evidence on the impact of exercise after childbirth.
Their new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, examined 35 studies involving more than 4,000 women from 14 different countries. The odds of postpartum depression were reduced by 45% among those who engaged in exercise compared to those who did not. And exercise was associated with less severe symptoms of depression and anxiety after giving birth.
Postpartum exercise reduced the severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms and the odds of postpartum depression (PA) Starting exercise before 12 weeks after birth was linked to a greater reduction in depressive symptoms than starting it later. And the greater the exercise volume the greater the reduction i.