ality of life in women diagnosed with postpartum depression and/or anxiety.
Strauss, Cavanaugh, Oliver, and Pettman (2014) define mindfulness as “a state of consciousness that is characterized by the self-regulation of attention towards present-moment experiences coupled with an accepting, non-judgmental stance towards these experiences” (p. 1). In their meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), they found significant benefits upon primary symptom severity in the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the intervention of depressive disorders. These authors outline MBIs as “usually brief interventions… which incorporate mindfulness meditation practice and principles” (Strauss et al., 2014, p. 1). In McCloskey and Reno’s (2019) systematic review of RCTs utilizing complementary methods to address PPD, the authors reference an Iranian study of 410 postpartum women which showed statistical significance in depression scores following only eight sessions of mindfulness training (Sheydaei et al., 2017).
Yoga has become a popularized mind-body practice that has recently been studied with increased interest across a range of professional domains. Kinser, Elswick, and Kornstein (2014) sought to understand the application of yoga as such an intervention for women experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD) in a long-term follow-up study. The findings from this pilot study found significance to suggest that individuals with MDD could benefit from yoga in both a short-term and a long-term time frame (Kinser, Elswick, & Kornstein, 2014). After one-year trends of depression, ruminations, stress, anxiety, and mental-health-related quality of life were sustained even with a minimal degree of yoga practice (Kinser, Elswick, & Kornstein, 2014). The lack of continuity of practice following initial exposure was perhaps one of the most compelling findings of their research, which suggests that yoga intervention has sustained benefit even if in a brief exposure (Kinser, Elswick, & Kornstein, 2014). This carryover is rare for any intervention, particularly for standard care of interventions for depression (e.g., pharmacological or psychotherapeutic approaches) when treatment is discontinued (Kinser, Elswick, & Kornstein, 2014).
As interest in this complementary practice of yoga as an intervention has grown, research efforts have evolved to address the physical and emotional health implications for women in the postpartum period. Buttner, Brock, O’Hara, and Stuart (2015) conducted one of the first RCTs specifically evaluating the impact of yoga on PPD. They found that women in the experimental yoga group improved in measures of depression, anxiety, well-being, and health-related quality of life scores at a significantly faster rate than the control (Buttner, Brock, O’Hara, & Stuart, 2015).
The benefits of physical activity for both physical and mental health have been extensively explored in the research to the current date. Presently, there exists strong advocacy from the U.S. Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promoting the importance and the value of regular, moderate-intensity physical activity. A Cochrane review completed by Cooney and colleagues (2013) concluded that in the treatment of depressed adults, there were no differences between the implementation of exercise, psychological therapy, and/or pharmacological intervention with antidepressants. Thus, physical activity is a vital intervention to consider for the treatment and prevention of postpartum depression as it transcends many of the known barriers associated with traditional intervention methods (e.g., stigma, cost, side effects) and may be easily accessed across multiple domains (Lewis et al., 2014).
Qualitative studies tell us that women who take up physical activity in the postpartum period feel empowered by their use of physical activity in becoming change-agents of their self-care, growth, and self-reflection (Lloyd, O’Brien, & Riot, 2016). While studies that have focused on the specific treatment of women with PPD, 