The study, conducted in collaboration with Butler Hospital and Women & Infants' Hospital, suggests the ancient mind-body practice may be a safer alternative to taking antidepressants during pregnancy.
 

Lead researcher Cynthia Battle noted depressed pregnant women are often reluctant to use depression medications and some also have difficulty engaging in individual psychotherapy.
 

"This is really about trying to develop a wider range of options that suit women who are experiencing these kind of symptoms during pregnancy," said Battle, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior in the Alpert Medical School of Brown and a psychologist at Butler and Women & Infants. "What we don't want to do is have people fall through the cracks."
 

Battle's study, published in the journal Women's Health Issues, tracked 34 pregnant women suffering from depression who participated in a 10-week program of prenatal yoga. Over the course of the study, the researchers measured depressive symptoms in the women, participation in yoga classes, home yoga practice, and changes in mindfulness, again using a standardized questionnaire.
 

The results showed most women experienced declines in their depressive symptoms during the 10-week program — from levels deemed “clinically significant depression” to measures significantly under that threshold.
 

The study data also showed that the more yoga pregnant women did, the more they benefitted psychologically.
 

"What we feel like we've learned from this open pilot trial is that prenatal yoga really does appear to be an approach that is feasible to administer, acceptable to women and their healthcare providers, and potentially helpful to improve mood," Battle said. "We found what we think are very encouraging results."
 

The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.