The objectives of this study were a) to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among women with postpartum depression, b) examine the association between severity of depressive symptoms and level of impairment in physical and mental HRQoL and c) to identify contributors to physical and mental HRQoL. Seventy-eight women scoring > or =10 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale completed the questionnaires measuring: HRQoL (Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form SF-36), sleep quality, life stress, and social support. All women underwent a cardiovascular stress test to determine aerobic capacity. Compared to Canadian normative data, women experiencing postpartum depressed mood scored significantly lower on all SF-36 domains, as well as on the SF-36 physical and mental component summary score. Severity of depressed mood was not associated to worse physical health status, while poorer aerobic capacity emerged as a significant independent contributor of physical health status. Severity of depressed mood contributed to worse mental health status. After controlling for severity of depressed mood, the occurrence of pregnancy complications, cesarean delivery, poorer sleep quality, life stress, and less social support predicted poorer mental health status.

The psychological benefits of physical exercise have been reported in numerous populations. While studies have found elevated stress and depressed mood during pregnancy and no adverse birth effects associated with low to moderate intensity exercise, few have examined exercise in relation to psychosocial outcomes during pregnancy. The present study examined leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) patterns during pregnancy and its association to psychological well-being. In each trimester of pregnancy 180 women self-reported on frequency, form and duration of LTPA through structured interviews. Beginning in the third month of pregnancy, data was collected monthly on depressed mood (Lubin depression adjective checklist), state-anxiety, pregnancy-specific stress (pregnancy experiences questionnaire) and Hassles Scale. Independent samples t-tests comparing exercisers and non-exercisers in each trimester showed exercisers reported significantly less depressed mood, daily hassles, state-anxiety and pregnancy-specific stress in the first and second trimester. Women who exercised in the third trimester reported less state-anxiety in that trimester compared to non-exercisers. The results indicate a consistent association between enhanced psychological well-being, as measured by a variety of psychosocial inventories, and LTPA participation particularly during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. In healthy pregnant women, even low-intensity regular exercise may be a potentially effective low-cost method of enhancing psychological well-being.

Home-based exercise is a feasible nonpharmacological intervention with the potential to alleviate postpartum depressive symptoms, especially in women with higher initial depressed mood scores as measured by the EPDS. These findings may guide the design of future exercise clinical trials with postpartum depressed women.