{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T18:37:59Z","timestamp":1769798279051,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,15]],"date-time":"2021-12-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639526400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Postpartum depression (PPD) is a public health issue. Exercise is a nonpharmacologic alternative to deal with PPD. This study conducted a systematic review of previous meta-analyses and an exploratory pooled analysis regarding the effects of exercise on depressive symptoms among women during the postpartum period. We searched for previous meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials on PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus, date of inception to 31 May 2021. The methodological quality was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR2) instrument. We pooled the standardised mean differences from the selected studies. Of the 52 records screened, five were included. The results revealed a significant moderate effect of exercise on depressive symptoms among women during the postpartum period (SMD = \u22120.53; 95% CI: \u22120.80 to \u22120.27, p &lt; 0.001). The pooled effect of the five meta-analyses established that exercise had a significant, small effect on depressive symptoms (SMD = \u22120.41; 95% CI: \u22120.50 to \u22120.32, p &lt; 0.001). Our study indicates that exercise is effective in reducing PPD symptoms. Compared with traditional control approaches (psychosocial and psychological interventions), exercise seems have a superior effect on PPD symptoms. The implications of the present synthesis of past meta-analytical findings to guide health policies and research are discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology10121331","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,15]],"date-time":"2021-12-15T09:02:19Z","timestamp":1639558939000},"page":"1331","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Effects of Exercise during Pregnancy on Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1295-0826","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Priscila","family":"Marconcin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Miguel","family":"Peralta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudo da Performance Humana (CIPER), Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0927-692X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c9lvio R.","family":"Gouveia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Educa\u00e7\u00e3o F\u00edsica e Desporto, Universidade da Madeira, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal"},{"name":"Interactive Technologies Institute, LARSyS, 9000-390 Funchal, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3177-6576","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gerson","family":"Ferrari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Ciencias de la Actividad F\u00edsica, el Deporte y la Salud, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Santiago 7500618, Chile"}]},{"given":"Eliana","family":"Carra\u00e7a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Desporto, Educa\u00e7\u00e3o F\u00edsica, Exerc\u00edcio e Sa\u00fad (CIDEFES), Faculdade de Educa\u00e7\u00e3o F\u00edsica e Desporto, Universidade Lus\u00f3fona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Andreas","family":"Ihle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland"},{"name":"Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES\u2014Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9850-7771","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adilson","family":"Marques","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro Interdisciplinar de Estudo da Performance Humana (CIPER), Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Sa\u00fade Ambiental (ISAMB), Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1071","DOI":"10.1097\/01.AOG.0000183597.31630.db","article-title":"Perinatal depression: A systematic review of prevalence and incidence","volume":"106","author":"Gavin","year":"2005","journal-title":"Obstet. 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