Moving mission for mums’ mental health
She’s dedicated her career to improving maternal mental health, and a new study from a CQUniversity researcher shows how exercise in pregnancy could shift new mums’ mood.
Dr Noor Jarbou is a Medical Science academic, and has spent the past decade exploring how to prevent and treat antenatal depression.
Her PhD research examined pregnant rats, comparing the effects of common depression treatment sertraline, to regular opportunities for exercise via a running wheel.
“My research found the voluntary exercise in pregnancy reduced observable postpartum anxiety in rats, while the drug did not alter postpartum anxiety, but did reduce litter size once the rat dam gave birth,” Dr Jarbou explained.
Now, her new study with 695 women, published recently in BioMed Central’s Pregnancy and Childbirth, showed 88 per cent believed exercise could improve mood during pregnancy.
But more than two-thirds received little or no advice from their healthcare provider about the safety and benefits of exercise during pregnancy.
Depressing data
A mum herself, Dr Jarbou began her PhD study when her son was just two years old.
“I could see how mental health during pregnancy shaped so much: your overall health, your experiences in birth, your relationships, and even your connection to your child,” she explained.
The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health shows one in five women experience significant emotional distress in pregnancy, and one in four postpartum.
Dr Jarbou said taboos around medical intervention during pregnancy made treatment challenging.
“Research with women consistently shows that many mothers are unwilling to take medication while they are pregnant, because they fear how it might impact their baby,” she explained.
“But antenatal and postnatal depression can have long-term impacts on both mother and baby, so the healthcare community needs alternative ways to support mental health from the earliest days of pregnancy.”
Energised for change
In Dr Jarbou’s latest research, 71 per cent of participants said they were unaware of global and national guidelines around exercise during pregnancy, and the majority did not meet baseline recommendations for weekly physical activity while pregnant.
New Australian 24-hour activity guidelines recommend 2.5 to 5 hours per week of moderate physical activity for pregnant women, and 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of intense physical activity.
“My study shows women understand it is safe and beneficial to exercise during pregnancy – our healthcare providers need to prioritise this advice, as a mental health treatment that can transform not just pregnancy experience, but have life-long benefits,” Dr Jarbou said.
Dr Jarbou is a Medical Science Lecturer in CQU’s School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences. Explore CQU’s Medical Science study pathways.
