YOGA FOR POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION : A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine yoga as complementary therapy for a prevention and an intervention in the management of  postpartum depression. A systematic review of literatures published between 2008-2018 was conducted by searching   Ebsco, PubMed, Proquest and Scopus databases. Studies were eligible if they focused on yoga intervention during  postpartum as  therapy  for  postpartum  depression.  We  exclude  articles  using therapeutic intervention for postpartum depression. We retrieved 50 citations from four databases and 40 unduplicated citations were scanned manually for potential inclusion. After screening the 40 records, 36 records were excluded. The remaining three records were assessed for eligibility.There are differences across studies in terms of design, population, sample size, intervention approaches, that need to be carefully assessed for further studies. Yoga intervention in depressed postpartum women may be effective in partly reducing depressive symptoms. Additional studies need to be conducted to further understand the effect of yoga intervention on postpartum depression.