Effectiveness of aerobic exercise in the prevention and treatment of postpartum depression: Meta-analysis and network meta-analysis - PubMed

This meta-analysis of 26 studies and 2,867 participants explores the effectiveness of aerobic exercise in preventing and treating postpartum depression (PPD). The findings reveal that aerobic exercise is significantly more effective than standard care, showing a particularly strong effect on PPD prevention. The research identifies an optimal intervention frequency of three to four sessions per week at moderate intensity for 35 to 45 minutes. While supervised and team-based formats showed slightly better results than individual or unsupervised ones, these differences were not statistically significant.