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A preliminary randomised control trial of the effects of Dru yoga on psychological well-being in Northern Irish first time mothers
Midwifery
Short Title: Midwifery
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: Nov 30, 2016
Pages: 29 - 36
Sources ID: 30836
Notes: LR: 20170713; CI: Copyright (c) 2017; JID: 8510930; OTO: NOTNLM; 2016/06/24 00:00 [received]; 2016/10/07 00:00 [revised]; 2017/01/09 00:00 [accepted]; 2017/01/28 06:00 [pubmed]; 2017/07/14 06:00 [medline]; 2017/01/28 06:00 [entrez]; ppublish
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
BACKGROUND: the transition to motherhood can be stressful, especially for first time mothers. Recent research has shown that yoga can be effective for enhancing psychological well-being. OBJECTIVES: the purpose of this study was to establish if a postpartum Dru yoga intervention improves psychological well-being in first time mothers. DESIGN: a randomised controlled study was conducted. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: first time mothers were recruited from a Sure Start Community Centre and included in the study if they had a baby aged between 6 weeks to one-year-old. Exclusion criteria were the presence of sciatica, bulging discs, heart disease or whiplash and if they already practiced yoga. METHODS: participants were randomised into a Dru yoga group (n=16) who received a one-hour Dru yoga session each week for 4 weeks and a 20-minute DVD for practice at home. The control group (n=16) who did not receive an intervention. Baseline and follow up measures of perceived stress, mood and coping were assessed in each group. RESULTS: a repeated measures factorial Analysis of Variance showed that in comparison to the control group, the Dru yoga intervention group had improved psychological well-being as indicated by reductions in stress, negative affect, and dysfunctional coping and increases in problem focused coping at follow up (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: the current study shows that Dru yoga is beneficial for the psychological well-being of first time mothers. Further research is needed using large scale replication studies with a longer follow up period and including multiparous women. This study extends the support for yoga with postpartum mothers.