Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Breast Milk and Breastfeeding Scale.

Background: Despite the numerous benefits of breast milk and breastfeeding for mother, infant and society, breastfeeding rates are not at the desired level in the world. One of the factors affecting the ability of an infant to receive breast milk for the recommended duration is the attitudes and beliefs of the mother and the environment towards breastfeeding. In this study, it was aimed to develop the Attitudes and Beliefs about Breast Milk and Breastfeeding Scale to determine women's current levels of wrong beliefs and attitudes about breast milk and breastfeeding.

Materials and methods: In this study, a methodological research design was used. The research sample consisted of 200 women who had experienced breastfeeding. Reliability was tested using the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient, item discrimination, item-total score correlations, and test-retest method. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were conducted for construct validity.

Results: The Attitudes and Beliefs about Breast Milk and Breastfeeding Scale developed in the study consists of 23 items and 4 factors. These are: (1) maternal nutrition and breast milk characteristics, (2) maternal factors, (3) breastfeeding behavior, (4) infant factors. It has been observed that this scale is 0.88 the Cronbach Alpha coefficients of the factors vary between 0.81 and 0.88 and that the scale has high reliability.

Conclusion: The scale shows that it is a useful tool in identifying false attitudes and beliefs about breast milk and breastfeeding. It is thought that future research and health professionals, educators and researchers providing services related to breastfeeding can benefit from the scale.