Yoga's Therapeutic Effect on Perinatal Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

In recent years, the incidence of perinatal depression in female population is very high. Perinatal depression has adverse effects on the physical and mental health of mothers and children. However, according to current researches, Yoga has been considered as an effective exercise that can help pregnant women to regulate their emotions. Thus, this review reports the effectiveness of yoga on perinatal depression.

We reviewed all of the relevant RCT (Randomized Control Trial, RCT) studies published until June 2021 from the major open-access databases.

12 RCTs were selected and included in this study, and the total number of people included in the analysis in the combined study was 594. The level of depression and anxiety of participants was evaluated using detailed and recognized scale. Compared with the control group, the yoga intervention group indicates a statistically significant decrease in depression levels (SMD (Standardised Mean Difference, SMD), -2.31; 95% CI, -3.67 to -0.96; P=0.139) and anxiety (SMD, -4.75; 95% CI, -8.3 to -1.19; P=0.002). In addition, we also conducted a subgroup analysis according to the type of population. The subgroup analysis successfully reduced the level of heterogeneity and the results indicated that the difference in population types in the combined analysis leads to the higher heterogeneity. The SMD value for healthy women is -2.3 (95% CI, -4.83 to 0.23) and for depressed women is -9.02 (95% CI, -11.42 to -6.62). Finally, the meta-analysis results of the self-control group prove that yoga can reduce the depression scores (SMD, 5.23; 95% CI, 1.90 to 8.56; P=0.049) compared with baseline.

Yoga can effectively relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety in the perinatal period, which can be used as an auxiliary treatment option clinically.