Development and Validation of Breastfeeding After Bariatric Surgery Scale

With an increasing number of women of reproductive age undergoing bariatric surgery, understanding breastfeeding experiences in this population has become increasingly important. While several breastfeeding questionnaires exist, none have been specifically developed to capture the unique experiences and influencing factors relevant to women who have undergone bariatric surgery.

The aim of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties of a breastfeeding questionnaire designed specifically for women with histories of bariatric surgery.

The Breastfeeding after Bariatric Surgery Scale (BBSS) was developed and validated in three phases: Phase 1, generating items by reviewing the relevant literature and the theory of planned behaviour; Phase 2, evaluating content validity with a panel of experts; and Phase 3, evaluating face validity, exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation, and reliability and responsiveness.

Initially, 40 items were generated in Phase 1. After assessing content and face validity, the number of items was reduced to 22. The results of exploratory factor analysis yielded a scale with 22 items in five domains, including "healthcare provider support," "perceived behavioural control," "subjective norms," "positive breastfeeding experience," and "negative feelings and challenges." These subscales explained 63.19 and 69.70% of the total variance, respectively. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for each subscale was >0.70, and the intraclass correlation coefficient for each subscale was >0.75.

This scale showed acceptable validity and reliability for measuring breastfeeding behaviour and experiences in mothers who have had bariatric surgery.