Translation and validation of the Polish-language version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) and its relationship to the type of delivery and the baby's Apgar score.

Background: Maternal birth experience is being increasingly recognised as a key clinical outcome parameter. The Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) is a short self-report measure designed to assess birth experience. The current investigation sought to translate the BSS-R into Polish and validate this version of the BSS-R (PL-BSS-R).

Participants and procedure: The BSS-R was translated into Polish by an expert panel using forward and backward translation. A complex within-subjects design with an embedded between-subjects component was used to determine the key psychometric characteristics of the PL-BSS-R. Two hundred ninety-four Polish-speaking women in Poland completed the follow-up component of the study where the PL-BSS-R was administered. The PL-BSS-R measurement properties were examined using confirmatory factor analysis, divergent, convergent validity analysis, internal consistency appraisal and investigation of known-groups discriminant characteristics.

Results: The PL-BSS-R was found to have generally very good measurement properties and to be equivalent to the original English-language version across key validity indices. The PL-BBS-R was found to be significantly correlated with neonatal physical health immediately postpartum and differed across delivery modes.

Conclusions: The PL-BSS-R is a psychometrically robust measure of birth experience appropriate for clinical and research use within Poland. Important associations were noted between subjective maternal birth experience and objective measures of neonatal physical health, indicating a critically important future research direction.