Effects of a Home-based Exercise Intervention on Fatigue in Postpartum Depressed Women: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Dritsa, Maria; Costa, Deborah Da; Dupuis, Gilles; Lowensteyn, Ilka; Khalifé, Samir

doi:10.1007/s12160-008-9020-4

Cited by 52 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…According to available evidence, (1,19) postpartum maternal fatigue is generally characterised as a dynamic, complicated and multidimensional phenomenon that negatively affects a mother's mental, physical and social health. Manifestations of postpartum fatigue (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(19) Therefore, the ability of physical exercise to successfully and significantly decrease patient fatigue is evident in past studies. The agreement of our findings with that of previous studies clearly indicates the strong effect exercise has on reducing fatigue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(15) Home exercises result in changes that can help mothers more easily perform the physical and manual tasks involved in child-rearing; home exercises may also increase the mother's ability to take their children out of the house. (19) To the best of our knowledge, no study has yet been conducted to assess the effect of Pilates exercises alone on postpartum maternal fatigue. One of the strengths of the present study is that it extensively evaluated the benefits of Pilates home exercises with regard to various subsets of fatigue in healthy women during the postpartum period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These items evaluate maternal mood disorders, but do not consider physical symptoms. (19) Montazeri et al studied the content validity of the Persian version of the EPDS and reported an r-value of 0.77 for its test-retest reliability. (20) Since there is documented evidence that anaemia can result in fatigue, (12) a complete blood count was performed four weeks after delivery for all the women in both groups to diagnose postpartum anaemia.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Pilates exercises on postpartum maternal fatigue

Ashrafinia¹,

Mirmohammadali²,

Rajabi³

et al. 2015

smedj

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INTRODUCTIONThe postpartum period is a transitional phase that has a decisive effect on a mother's physical and mental health.(1) The changes involved during this period, including hormonal shifts and the beginning of new and unfamiliar child-rearing tasks, can cause primiparous mothers to experience stress and fatigue. (2) Postpartum fatigue, which is the result of the tense and overwhelming experience of caring for a newborn, has negative effects on the health of the mother, the neonate and the family. This phenomenon often begins immediately after delivery and reaches its maximum severity within 36 hours.(4) In contrast to the belief that it is a temporary experience, postpartum fatigue can last for a prolonged period after delivery.(3) A literature review by Groër et al reported that more than 80% of mothers complain of postpartum fatigue.(5) Corwin et al reported a postpartum fatigue incidence of about 70% among mothers who had given birth 1-2 months earlier.(6) Primiparous women were found to be more likely to complain of postpartum fatigue. (7) Although postpartum fatigue is a common and natural phenomenon, it has received attention due to its excruciating nature.(8) Even after more than two decades of study, postpartum fatigue remains one of the five major postpartum concerns and its treatment is often a controversial subject in many studies. The resultant reduced stamina decreases a mother's capability to undertake physical and mental tasks; it also decreases her ability to manage her infant's needs, her responsibilities to other family members and her professional duties.(10) Additionally, reduced maternal energy impairs the immune, nervous and mental systems of both the mother and the infant.(5) Other undesirable and potentially serious outcomes include termination of lactation, (11) impairment of the sexual relationship between spouses, (7) development of stress and mood disorders (5) and an increased risk of postpartum depression.(12) Therefore, it is of utmost importance that an effective solution to this condition is found. There has been some evidence supporting the positive effect of physical exercise on maternal and infant health.(1) The theory behind the use of physical exercise is that, by increasing maternal motivation and self-confidence, postpartum exercise enhances child-rearing practices and helps mothers play their maternal roles more efficiently. (13) Considering the circumstances of a postpartum woman, home exercise is deemed the most suitable and is also the most common type of exercise recommended by healthcare professionals, since it presents fewer childcare-related barriers, resulting in mothers exercising more willingly and with greater motivation. (14) Pilates exercises, introduced by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, are considered a good method for accelerating convalescence after pregnancy. However, the effectiveness of Pilates exercises in reducing postpartum fatigue is not well known.(15) In a previous study,(1) the combination of yoga and Pilates exercises was show...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effect of Pilates exercises on postpartum maternal fatigue

Ashrafinia¹,

Mirmohammadali²,

Rajabi³

et al. 2015

smedj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is therefore expected that the provision of an exercise program as part of postpartum care can help reduce mental health problems. Most studies related to the benefits of postpartum exercise on mental health have targeted womedn with higher EPDS scores and have shown the effect of exercise in reducing depressive symptoms in this population [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%