ArticleComplementary therapies in clinical practice2014
The effect of prenatal Hatha yoga on affect, cortisol and depressive symptoms.
Article in Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prenatal exercise and its effects on postpartum mental health: systematic review and meta-analysis.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of different physical activity interventions on perinatal depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of an exercise intervention on maternal depression, anxiety, and fatigue: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Nutritional factors and cross-national postpartum depression prevalence: an updated meta-analysis and meta-regression of 412 studies from 46 countries.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Exercise and yoga during pregnancy and their impact on depression: a systematic literature review.Archives of women's mental health · 2022Pooled it
- The characteristics and effectiveness of pregnancy yoga interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of physical activity on prevention of postpartum depression: A dose-response meta-analysis of 186,412 women.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Yoga for prenatal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2015Pooled it
- Virtual reality enhanced mindfulness and yoga intervention for postpartum depression and anxiety in the post COVID era.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The Effect of Prenatal Yoga on Pregnancy-Related Symptoms: A Pilot Quasi-Experimental Study.Complementary medicine research · 2023Trial
- Stress, subjective wellbeing and self-knowledge in higher education teachers: A pilot study through bodyfulness approaches.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Liberating the Postpartum Body: The Effects of Movement on Body Image Amongst Postpartum Ultra-Orthodox Women in Israel.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- Is forest bathing a panacea for mental health problems? A narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Effect of yoga and music on depression among antenatal Indian women.Bioinformation · 2025Article
- What can the psychoneuroimmunology of yoga teach us about depression's psychopathology?Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Validation and efficacy of a tele-yoga intervention for improving psychological stress, mental health and sleep difficulties of stressed adults diagnosed with long COVID: a prospective, multi-center, open-label single-arm study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of yoga to improve maternal mental health and immune function during the COVID-19 crisis (Yoga-MFrontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
- Physical Activity, Yoga, and Exercise Prescription for Postpartum and Midlife Weight Management: A Practical Review for Clinicians.Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology of India · 2022Review
- Effects of a Single Yoga Session on Cardiac Interoceptive Accuracy and Emotional Experience.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- The effectiveness and characteristics of pregnancy yoga interventions: a systematic review protocol.HRB open research · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Perinatal depression impacts maternal and child health, and little is known about effective interventions. The effects of prenatal Hatha yoga on cortisol, affect and depressive symptoms were investigated in 51 women. Twice during pregnancy, yoga group participants reported on affect and provided a saliva sample before and after a 90-min prenatal Hatha yoga session. Corresponding measures were obtained from yoga and control group participants on days of usual activity. Depressive symptoms were assessed in pregnancy and post partum. Cortisol was lower (p < .01) and positive affect higher (p < .001) on yoga compared to usual activity days. Negative affect and contentment (p < .05) improved more in response to the yoga session. Yoga group participants showed fewer postpartum (p < .05) but not antepartum depressive symptoms than control group participants. Findings indicate that prenatal Hatha yoga may improve current mood and may be effective in reducing postpartum depressive symptoms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.