Introduction
depression
PND
Women commonly experience both physical and psychological difficulties following childbirth [For those with mild to moderate symptoms of PND, National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines recommend guided self-help, cognitive behaviour therapy or exercise programmes [Evidence is emerging for alternative early intervention methods, including psycho-educational home visits [A low cost and low intensity intervention, known to have beneficial effects on both maternal and infant wellbeing, is close body contact [Both SSC and KMC have been found to be associated with significant reductions in maternal symptoms of depression, in comparison to treatment-as-usual [One way in which a mother may increase close body contact with their infant is through the use of an infant carrier, or ‘sling’. This is a structured piece of fabric that allows the parent to carry the infant against their body [One study which randomised new mothers to a sling use vs. a control intervention found that in follow up interviews, mothers reporting greater sling use were also likely to discuss themes of bonding, calming, and infant well-being [To the best of our knowledge, no research randomly allocating participants to a sling intervention has focused on maternal mental health and psychological well-being outcomes. In addition to the maternal psychological benefits of close body contact as described above, sling use may promote mothers’ autonomy and social engagement through allowing mothers to have their hands free, travel more easily, and access a range of sling-based social networks (e.g. via social media) [Whilst the above studies on SSC and KMC examine the impact of close body contact on factors that may affect maternal mental health, studies so far have not explored whether sling use, including accessing sling-related social support or services (e.g. sling libraries), can also promote maternal psychological well-being and reduce postnatal depression symptoms. To establish such a relationship, a full-scale efficacy study, utilising a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) design is needed [