Baby Blues Got You Down? Try Exercise!

In this study, 161 English-speaking women who were being discharged from the postnatal ward of The Angliss Hospital in Australia were randomly assigned to an experimental Mother and Baby (M and B) Program or an education only (EO) group.

Once a week for 8 weeks, the M and B group, comprised of 62 women, undertook 1 hour of exercise with their babies, facilitated by a women’s health physical therapist, combined with 30 minutes of parenting education delivered by health care professionals.

Seventy-three women were assigned to the EO group and received only the same written educational materials. Twenty-six of the women did not receive either of the allocated interventions.

The results of the study show that those who took part in the exercise program had higher well-being scores and experienced less depressive symptoms over the course of the program, and even 4 weeks after program completion. Click here to read the full article.

Have you ever experienced post-partum depression? What helped you cope? Leave a comment below!