Yoga's effectiveness in treating prenatal depression and anxiety: a review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Abstract Background Yoga is one of the most popular physical exercises for pregnant women to relieve symptoms of prenatal depression and anxiety. Our awareness of the essential elements of a successful yoga practice during pregnancy still has inadequacies. This review will investigate the characteristics and efficacy of prenatal yoga therapies in order to give evidence on yoga-assisted therapy of pregnant depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods By August 2023, four English-language electronic databases had been scoured for literature of yoga therapies in pregnancy: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Review Manager 5.4 software employed random-effects and fix-effects models for meta-analysis, assessing overall effects, heterogeneity, and publication bias through mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Results In the beginning, 1690 studies were retrieved. After deleting duplicates, 1461 studies were examined, with 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ultimately meeting the inclusion criteria. This meta-analysis found that yoga therapies during pregnancy had a substantial effect on prenatal depression (SMD = -0.75, 95%CI = -1.24 to -0.27, p = 0.002) and anxiety (SMD = -0.96, 95%CI = -1.63 to -0.29, p = 0.005). According to the findings of subgroup analysis, prenatal non-depressed pregnant women who participated in integrated yoga with a duration of every session of training > 20 minutes, more than 1 session every week, continuous training > 10 weeks, and unsupervised training improved their depression and anxiety during pregnancy. Conclusion Yoga during pregnancy helps to relieve symptoms of prenatal depression and anxiety and can be used as an adjunctive treatment option for prenatal depression.