Background and Objectives: During pregnancy and the postnatal period many changes occur in a woman’s body, both in mental and physical spheres. The birth of a child and a new role—of a mother—can sometimes be associated with numerous negative emotions, uncertainty, fear, anxiety, disgust, depression, or sadness. In the puerperium period, the development of baby blues or postpartum depression may occur. Postpartum depression develops within one month of childbirth and may last up to one year. Depressive disorders that may develop in a young mother affect both her and the newborn’s health. That is why it is so important to try to search for factors that could significantly reduce the likelihood of developing depression in this period. The study aims at assessing the relationship between physical activity during pregnancy and puerperium or in the postpartum and the development of postnatal depression. Materials and Methods: A review of the literature was carried out in the Medline-PubMed database. The search terms were “pregnancy” AND “physical activity AND postpartum depression”. The study included only English-language publications published in the period 2000–2018. Results: A total of 216 references were found. After establishing the inclusion and exclusion criteria based on the analysis of titles and abstracts, 173 articles were excluded from the review. A total of 43 publications were read in full. Finally, 16 articles were included in the review. It was shown that regular physical activity during pregnancy, pregnancy, and puerperium, or in the postnatal period itself as compared to inactivity, reduces the risk of developing depression in pregnant women and after the birth of a child. Conclusions: Physical activity can be an essential factor in the prevention of depressive disorders of women in the postnatal period.

Background and Objectives: Pregnancy is a unique period in the life of every woman. The lifestyle of a pregnant woman has a significant impact on her and her child’s health. Regular physical activity is one of the elements that help maintain normal mental and physical well-being. In pregnant women who regularly have moderate physical activity, there is a lower risk of developing obesity and overweight. Physical exercises have an impact on maintaining proper muscular tonus, reduce pain and prepare for the exertion during labour. Based on the available literature, the aim of this study was to present the impact of physical activity on depressive disorders in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: A review of the literature was carried out in the Medline PubMed database. The basic search terms were: “pregnancy” AND “physical activity AND depression”. The work included only English-language publications published in the years 2000–2018. Results: A total of 408 references were found. On the basis of an analysis of titles, abstracts and the language of publication (other than English), 354 articles were rejected, and 54 articles were fully read, of which five were rejected due to lack of access to the full version. Finally, 17 references were included in the review. Conclusions: Physical activity, at least once a week, significantly reduces the symptoms of depression in pregnant women and may be an important factor in the prevention of depression in this period.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common health problem affecting quality of life of nearly 420 million people, both women and men. Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training and other physiotherapy techniques play an important role in non-surgical UI treatment, but their therapeutic effectiveness is limited to slight or moderate severity of UI. Higher UI severity requires surgical procedures with pre- and post-operative physiotherapy. Given that nearly 30%–40% of women without dysfunction and about 70% with pelvic floor dysfunction are unable to perform a correct PFM contraction, therefore, it is particularly important to implement physiotherapeutic techniques aimed at early activation of PFM. Presently, UI physiotherapy focuses primarily on PFM therapy and its proper cooperation with synergistic muscles, the respiratory diaphragm, and correction of improper everyday habits for better pelvic organ support and continence. The purpose of this work is a systematic review showing the possibilities of using physiotherapeutic techniques in the treatment of UI in women with attention to the techniques of PFM activation. Evidence of the effectiveness of well-known (e.g., PFM training, biofeedback, and electrostimulation) and less-known (e.g., magnetostimulation, vibration training) techniques will be presented here regarding the treatment of symptoms of urinary incontinence in women.

Fecal incontinence (FI) affects approximately 0.25–6% of the population, both men and women. The most common causes of FI are damage to/weakness of the anal sphincter muscle and/or pelvic floor muscles, as well as neurological changes in the central or peripheral nervous system. The purpose of this study is to report the results of a systematic review of the possibilities and effectiveness of physiotherapy techniques for the prevention and treatment of FI in women. For this purpose, the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for 2000–2020. A total of 22 publications qualified for detailed analysis. The studies showed that biofeedback (BF), anal sphincter muscle exercises, pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), and electrostimulation (ES) are effective in relieving FI symptoms, as reflected in the International Continence Society recommendations (BF: level A; PFMT and ES: level B). Research has confirmed that physiotherapy, by improving muscle strength, endurance, and anal sensation, is beneficial in the prevention of FI, both as an independent method of conservative treatment or in pre/post-surgery treatment. Moreover, it can significantly improve the quality of life of patients. In conclusion, physiotherapy (in particular, BF, PFMT, or ES, as effective methods) should be one of the key elements in the comprehensive therapy of patients with FI.

From the beginning of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, special attention has been paid to pregnant women and to monitoring comorbidities, such as gestational diabetes and hypertension, which could increase their risk of disease and death. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the available knowledge on the course of COVID-19 in pregnant women as well as the risk of maternal–fetal transmission. The study indicated that the course of COVID-19 is worse in pregnant women who are more often admitted to intensive care units or who require mechanical ventilation than nonpregnant women with COVID-19. Some symptoms, such as dyspnea and cough, were similar to those observed in nonpregnant women, but fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and diarrhea were less frequent. A study revealed that premature delivery and cesarean section were more common in pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19. In addition, recent studies confirm the possibility of intrauterine maternal–fetal transmission by positive genetic tests and the presence of IgM in newborns just after delivery; at the moment, the probability of transmission through mother’s milk is inconclusive. Considering all the above, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is an important factor that threatens the health and life of both the mother and the fetus, but further studies are still needed.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a serious health issue that affects both women and men. The risk of UI increases in men with age and after treatment for prostate cancer and affects up to 32% of men. Furthermore, UI may affect up to 69% of men after prostatectomy. Considering such a high incidence, it is critical to search for effective methods to mitigate this issue. Hence, the present review aims to provide an overview of physiotherapeutic methods and evaluate their effectiveness in treating UI in men. This systematic review was performed using articles included in PubMed, Embase, WoS, and PEDro databases. A total of 6965 relevant articles were found. However, after a risk of bias assessment, 39 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The research showed that the available physiotherapeutic methods for treating men with UI, including those after prostatectomy, involve pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) alone or in combination with biofeedback (BF) and/or electrostimulation (ES), vibrations, and traditional activity. In conclusion, PFMT is the gold standard of UI therapy, but it may be complemented by other techniques to provide a personalized treatment plan for patients. The effectiveness of the physiotherapeutic methods varies from study to study, and large methodological differences make it difficult to accurately compare individual results and draw unequivocal conclusions.