The reliability and validity of the Polish version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form: translation and psychometric assessment

BACKGROUND: The majority of women discontinue breastfeeding before the recommended 6 months postpartum. If health professionals are to improve low breastfeeding duration and exclusivity rates, they need to reliably assess high-risk women and identify predisposing factors that are amenable to intervention. One possible modifiable variable is breastfeeding confidence. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (BSES-SF) is a 14-item measure designed to assess a mother's confidence in her ability to breastfeed her baby. OBJECTIVES: To translate the BSES-SF into Polish and assess its psychometric properties among breastfeeding mothers. DESIGN: Methodological study. SETTING: Five hospitals in Lodz Poland. PARTICIPANTS: Using convenience sampling, 105 in-hospital breastfeeding mothers were recruited. METHODS: Following back-translation procedures, mothers completed questionnaires in-hospital and at 8 and 16 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency was 0.89. In-hospital BSES-SF scores significantly predicted breastfeeding duration and exclusivity at 8 and 16 weeks postpartum. Demographic response patterns suggested the BSES-SF is a unique tool to identify breastfeeding mothers at risk of prematurely discontinuing. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that the translated version of the BSES-SF may be a valid and reliable measure of breastfeeding self-efficacy among a sample of mothers in Lodz Poland.