THE EFFECT OF A PERINATAL EXERCISE COUNSELLING INTERVENTION ON DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Autor: Tzouma, Natalia Antigoni, Morres, Ioannis, Comoutos, Nikolaos, Krommidas, Charalampos, Kotronis, Konstantinos, Papaioannou, Athanasios, Theodorakis, Yannis
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
DOI: 10.26262/hjp.v19i3.8810
Popis: Perinatal depression is affecting approximately 16% of pregnant and 20% of postpartum women. Regular perinatal Physical Activity (PA) is considered a preventive factor for perinatal depressive symptoms. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an Exercise Counselling (EC) intervention compared to Perinatal Wellbeing Education (PWE) on depressive symptoms of perinatal individuals recruited via obstetric care practices. Secondary aim was to examine the intervention’s outcomes on anxiety levels and sleep quality. Twenty-five women were randomly assigned to the EC group (N = 12) or the PWE group (N = 13). Participants were provided with accelerometer devices to record their daily PA. Standardized questionnaires were administered at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. The EC group reported significant improvements in symptoms of depression at mid- and post-intervention compared to the PWE group. Anxiety symptoms were significantly lower for both mid- and post intervention, while sleeping difficulties were significantly lower for the EC group compared to the PWE group, but only at mid-intervention. Participants’ total weekly PA was similar between the study groups at all measurement points. However, the EC group engaged in significantly more minutes of moderate intensity PA and recreational PA at mid- and post-intervention. The implemented EC intervention was beneficial for alleviating depressive symptoms, as well as decreasing anxiety levels and sleep disturbances. Randomized controlled trials with follow-up measurements are needed to ascertain these findings.
Hellenic Journal of Psychology, Vol 19, No 3 (2022)
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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