A randomized controlled trial of yoga for pregnant women with symptoms of depression and anxiety

• Yoga is a safe and feasible intervention for antenatal depression and anxiety.
• Yoga is a credible and satisfactory intervention for antenatal depression and anxiety.
• Yoga was associated with reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms although not significantly more so than usual care.

BackgroundYoga may be well suited for depressed and anxious pregnant women, given reported benefits of meditation and physical activity and pregnant women's preference for nonpharmacological treatments.MethodsWe randomly assigned 46 pregnant women with symptoms of depression and anxiety to an 8-week yoga intervention or treatment-as-usual (TAU) in order to examine feasibility and preliminary outcomes.ResultsYoga was associated with high levels of credibility and satisfaction as an intervention for depression and anxiety during pregnancy. Participants in both conditions reported significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety over time; and yoga was associated with significantly greater reduction in negative affect as compared to TAU (β = −0.53, SE = 0.20, p = .011).ConclusionPrenatal yoga was found to be a feasible and acceptable intervention and was associated with reductions in symptoms of anxiety and depression; however, prenatal yoga only significantly outperformed TAU on reduction of negative affect.