The study describes how yoga can also reduce the extent of mood disorders. “This is really about trying to develop a wider range of options that suit women who are experiencing these kind of symptoms during pregnancy,” said lead author Cynthia Battle, associate professor and a psychologist from the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Rhode Island.
Prior research shows that yoga helps with psychological issues in individuals, and the current study reinforces this for pregnant women. Research has also shown that pregnant women are generally averse to consuming medications to treat their mood disorders. Yoga provides a natural way out of these problems.
Battle’s research is based on a pilot 10-week program of prenatal yoga, to test whether yoga classes would be a practical solution for mild to moderately depressed women. “What we feel like we’ve learned from this open pilot trial is that prenatal yoga really does appear to be an approach that is feasible to administer, acceptable to women and their health-care providers, and potentially helpful to improve mood,” Battle said. “We found what we think are very encouraging results,” she added.
Battle and co-author Lisa Uebelacker encouraged 34 pregnant women with depression symptoms to participate in the study, obstetricians and midwives to recruit 34 pregnant women with elevated depression symptoms. The symptoms of depression were studied at regular intervals during the 10-week period, along with participation in yoga classes, practice at home and changes in attitude through a questionnaire.
Since there was no control group established, the results are only indicative, though they are positive in nature.
On average, symptoms were found to drop from moderate to mild.
The study was published in March, 2015.