New mothers affected by the ‘baby blues’ and potentially at risk of risk of developing major clinical depression gain benefits from attending exercise-only programmes.

That is the message contained in an article written by a team of researchers based in Canada and China that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine last week (8 November).

The team members included Margie Davenport, from the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory at the University of Alberta,

The team, which conducted a pooled data analysis of the evidence, found that mothers need to take at least 80 weekly minutes of moderate intensity exercise – such as brisk walking, water aerobics, stationary cycling, and resistance training with bands, weights, or body weight – to reap the rewards.