Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28855163›Full record

SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2017

Does aerobic exercise reduce postpartum depressive symptoms? a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ruth Victoria Pritchett, Amanda J Daley, Kate Jolly

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

37 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.

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  13. Safety and effectiveness of routine postpartum bathing in a bathtub: A prospective study in Japan.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ruth Victoria PritchettInstitute of Applied Health Research; the Murray Learning Centre.
Amanda J DaleyInstitute of Applied Health Research; the Murray Learning Centre.
Kate JollyInstitute of Applied Health Research, Public Health Building, University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
Art Research Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences · SK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is currently no specific guidance on the role of exercise in managing postpartum depression in the UK and US, and international guidance is inconsistent.

aimTo assess the effectiveness of aerobic exercise on postpartum depressive symptoms. DESIGN AND

settingSystematic review and meta-analysis. There was no restriction to study site or setting.

methodThe databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, SportDiscus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched. Titles and abstracts, then full-text articles, were screened against inclusion criteria: RCTs measuring depressive symptoms in mothers ≤1 year postpartum; and interventions designed to increase aerobic exercise compared with usual care or other comparators. Included studies were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis was conducted. Pre-planned subgroup analyses explored heterogeneity.

resultsThirteen RCTs were included, with 1734 eligible participants. Exercise significantly reduced depressive symptoms when all trials were combined (standardised mean difference -0.44; 95% confidence interval = -0.75 to -0.12). Exploration of heterogeneity did not find significant differences in effect size between women with possible depression and in general postpartum populations; exercise only and exercise with co-interventions; and group exercise and exercise counselling.

conclusionThis systematic review provides support for the effectiveness of exercise in reducing postpartum depressive symptoms. Group exercise, participant-chosen exercise, and exercise with co-interventions all may be effective interventions. These results should be interpreted with caution because of substantial heterogeneity and risk of bias.

Indexed as

Depression, PostpartumDirective CounselingExerciseFemaleHumansPatient ParticipationTreatment Outcomedepressiondepression, postpartumexercisepostnatalreview, systematic

Identifiers

PMID28855163
PMCPMC5604832
OpenAlexW2753518285

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.