Can yoga and mindfulness lift the fog of postpartum depression?
NCT ID NCT06275217
First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether a 10-week mindful yoga program eases depression, anxiety, and stress in women who have recently given birth. The trial enrolls 198 postpartum women with depressive symptoms and assigns them to either weekly mindful yoga sessions or a psychoeducation program. Participants complete questionnaires and provide saliva samples to measure stress hormones at the start, after 10 weeks, and again at 6 and 12 months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a 10-week mindful yoga program combining mindfulness practice and yoga
- What this could lead to
- If it works, mindful yoga could offer a low-cost, drug-free way to ease depression and stress for women after childbirth.
- What could go wrong
- Yoga and mindfulness do not help everyone, and any benefit may fade once sessions end. The trial compares two supportive programs, so improvements could reflect attention and social contact rather than yoga itself.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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198 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2021
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 60 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Postpartum women aged 18-60 years old. * The scores of EPDS ≥ 10. * At least 6 week and up to 1 year after childbirth. * Giving birth to a single full-term healthy baby (gestation between 37-41 weeks, body weight \> 2.5kg, APGAR score at 5 minutes \> 7). * Fewer than 10 hours of yoga/Qi gong/Tai Chi or mindfulness/meditation practice in the previous 3 months. Exclusion Criteria: * Severe complications after delivery, or their infants are admitted to NICU. * Regular psychiatric follow-up. * Currently taking antipsychotic drugs. * Known pragnancy, or other contraindications to physical exercise (e.g., wound healing situation) according to the body examination by O\&G clinicians at 6 weeks after delivery.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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