title: A preliminary randomised control trial of the effects of Dru yoga on psychological well-being in Northern Irish first time mothers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  the transition to motherhood can be stressful, especially for first time mothers. Recent research has shown that yoga can be effective for enhancing psychological well-being.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  the purpose of this study was to establish if a postpartum Dru yoga intervention improves psychological well-being in first time mothers.
  
  
  METHODS
  a randomised controlled study was conducted.
  
  
  METHODS
  first time mothers were recruited from a Sure Start Community Centre and included in the study if they had a baby aged between 6 weeks to one-year-old. Exclusion criteria were the presence of sciatica, bulging discs, heart disease or whiplash and if they already practiced yoga.
  
  
  METHODS
  participants were randomised into a Dru yoga group (n=16) who received a one-hour Dru yoga session each week for 4 weeks and a 20-minute DVD for practice at home. The control group (n=16) who did not receive an intervention. Baseline and follow up measures of perceived stress, mood and coping were assessed in each group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  a repeated measures factorial Analysis of Variance showed that in comparison to the control group, the Dru yoga intervention group had improved psychological well-being as indicated by reductions in stress, negative affect, and dysfunctional coping and increases in problem focused coping at follow up (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the current study shows that Dru yoga is beneficial for the psychological well-being of first time mothers. Further research is needed using large scale replication studies with a longer follow up period and including multiparous women. This study extends the support for yoga with postpartum mothers.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK. Electronic address: Timlin-D@ulster.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Deirdre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Timlin
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Institute, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK. Electronic address: eea.simpson@ulster.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ellen Elizabeth Anne
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009660:Northern Ireland; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015013:Yoga / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Coping; Mood; Postpartum; Stress; Yoga