تأثیر فعالیت بدنی مادران افسرده در دوران بارداری بر شاخص‌های رشدی بدو تولد نوزادان

Introduction: Depression prevalence during pregnancy and its prevention and treatment has been concerned by researchers. The aim of study was to investigate the effects of physical activities in this period on post-term developmental indexes. Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental one. 3 groups with pretest and posttest design with control group [depressed (n=27), depressed with physical activities (n=32) and the control (n=30) groups] were studied. Beck depression questionnaire was used to measure the rate of depression. Aerobic training program was 3 sessions a week, each session 30 min by 40-50% of maximal reserve heart rate. Infants&rsquo; height, weight and head circumference measurements were obtained after birth. One way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The results indicated that &nbsp;height, weight and head circumferences as three infants&rsquo; growth indexes were lower in depressed group compared to the other groups (p<0.05). Control group and depressed mother with physical activities gave a birth with the better developmental indices, respectively. Another results showed that depression level in the depressed group with physical activities was improved from high intensity to medium one (p=0.001). Conclusion: Conclusively, regular physical activity plays a key role in depression improvement of pregnant women and it leads to the improvement in infants&rsquo; growth indexes.