Aims and objectives
depression, Hostility
SECONDARY, INTERACTION, ATTRITION
The primary aim of this study is to explore participation, practicality, uptake, and acceptability, which are all aspects of RCT feasibility [Participation refers to the number eligible to participate in the study from the number screened, and the number who consent to participate, from those invited to do so. Based on studies of close body contact, KMC and other psychosocial interventions for postnatal depression, an eligibility rate of around 60% or above [Practicality (or actual fit) refers to whether it is it possible to implement the study as it was designed within the research protocol, including whether the attrition rate is low enough to be practical. Attrition rates of higher than 15% are difficult to address using missing value methods (e.g. multiple imputation) [Uptake refers to the extent to which participants allocated to receive the sling intervention actually use the sling and associated support provided, and, conversely, the extent to which participants in the control group use slings independently from the study.Acceptability refers to whether the participants perceive participating in the study, the intervention, and the outcome measures administered, to be acceptable, operationalised here qualitatively, using the seven components of acceptability outlined by Sekhon et al. [The secondary aim of this feasibility study is to gather preliminary data regarding treatment effectiveness [It is predicted that sling use with the support of sling library services will lead to lower postnatal depression scores, higher wellbeing, perceived social support and parental self-efficacy scores, and greater rates of secure mother-infant attachment (indicated by higher Quality of Attachment, Absence of Hostility, and Pleasure in Interaction scores on a mother-infant attachment measure [