Effectiveness of exercise on perinatal depression and anxiety symptoms: A network meta‐analysis and dose–response analysis
Both mind-body and aerobic exercises demonstrated substantial antidepressant effects, with Pilates and yoga eliciting the greatest benefits. Aerobic exercise showed the greatest efficacy for women with depressive symptoms. Aerobic and mind-body exercise improved prenatal depression symptoms, whereas mind-body exercise was more efficacious postpartum. The findings support stage-specific and volume-adjusted exercise prescriptions as viable nonpharmacological strategies for optimizing perinatal mental health outcomes.
Authors
- Ruizhe Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7265-5739)
- Naichun Gao
- Cong Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6149-4989)
- Li Shu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2868-0071)
- F F Wang
- Yongjin Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4461-4277)
- Xinxin Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8870-6758)
- Jinxia Pan
- Yuzhihan Li
Institutions
- Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Northeast Normal University (CN)
- Tohoku University (JP)
- Zhejiang Lab (CN)
- Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
- Published
- 2026-01-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.70781
- Primary Topic
- Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00