A team of UK researchers has published a new study examining how middle-aged, middle-class British women describe the effects of regular open water swimming on their wellbeing, including its impact on menopause symptoms and mental health.

The University of East London research uses in-depth interviews to understand women’s own accounts of swimming in outdoor water and how they feel it supports their lives.

The study looks at the patterns that emerged when women talked about what open water swimming meant to them.

Across the interviews, four themes appeared consistently.

Although menopause was never introduced by the researchers, several participants volunteered that cold water and the routine of swimming helped them feel calmer, more emotionally balanced and more in control during a major life transition.

Women felt it supported their mental wellbeing, with many describing a clear “reset” effect, a lift in mood, more energy and an increased sense of what their bodies could do, all expressed in their own terms.

They also spoke about health, strength and resilience.

Participants said the experience of swimming outdoors helped them feel more capable and better able to deal with difficult moments, including bereavement, illness and daily stress.

Finally, Interviewees emphasised the community around the lake and said that the confidence and clarity they gained often carried over into work, relationships and everyday decision-making.

This is the first qualitative study to examine open water swimming through “flourishing” a recognised psychological framework, and that participants’ accounts aligned closely with its components.

Mr James Beale is lead author and Programme Leader for the MSc Applied Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of East London.

He said: “We are seeing a major shift in women taking up open water swimming, and many are now speaking openly about how it connects to menopause.

“Until now, this discussion has been largely anecdotal.

“Our study shows that women repeatedly link outdoor swimming with emotional steadiness, confidence and coping during this stage of life.

“That points to an emerging area of women’s health that deserves greater attention.”

Early pregnancy therapy can cut postpartum depression and anxiety by tackling prenatal anxiety, new research has revealed.

A trial of 1,200 pregnant women in Pakistan found those receiving cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a talking therapy that changes patterns of thought and behaviour, had 81 per cent lower odds of postpartum depression or moderate-to-severe anxiety than those receiving usual care.

Only 12 per cent of women in the intervention group developed postpartum depression, compared with 41 per cent in the control group.

The research was led by Pamela Surkan at Johns Hopkins University, in partnership with the University of Liverpool and the Human Development Research Foundation Pakistan.

Surkan said: “We hope this research doesn’t end with evidence, but with implementation.

“Every pregnant woman deserves the chance to thrive, and mental health must be recognised as a core part of maternal health everywhere.”

Among women who attended five or more sessions, the risk of low birthweight (under 2.5kg) and small-for-gestational-age births (smaller than expected for weeks of pregnancy) decreased by 39 per cent and 32 per cent respectively.

The approach was designed to be scalable: therapy was delivered by trained non-specialist counsellors in a public hospital in Rawalpindi, making it accessible and low-cost for health systems without specialist clinicians.

In Pakistan, up to 49 per cent of pregnant women experience anxiety, yet access to mental health care remains limited.

Prenatal anxiety is rarely addressed in public health systems despite long-term consequences for mothers and children.

What began at a global mental health meeting in Washington DC in 2012 evolved into a research partnership spanning 2017 to 2024. Findings from the main trial were published in March 2024.

Beyond clinical outcomes, the research linked better social support, reduced stress and fewer pregnancy-related difficulties to improved mental health outcomes.

To date, 29 peer-reviewed articles have been published from the project, which has established one of the world’s largest datasets on prenatal anxiety in low and middle-income countries and developed an intervention manual ready for wider use.

The team is now focused on scaling, with proposals submitted to test the intervention in new contexts and plans to make the manual publicly available.