Component of the short version of the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale (BSES-SF) as a predictor of breastfeeding duration.

Background: self-efficacy in breastfeeding influences the duration of breastfeeding. There is a validated scale to measure it, the Breastfeeding Self Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), developed by Dennis et al. AIMS: to examine the internal structure of the BSES-SF, verify if the score changes in the first months of lactation and if it is related to early cessation of breastfeeding.

Methods: at 24-48 h after birth and at 3 and 6 months, the 272 participants completed the BSES-SF and the type of lactation, sociodemographic and clinical variables were recorded. The construct validity of the scale was assessed by factorial analysis, the predictive validity using a multiple regression analysis, and the reliability by Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

Results: the factorial analysis reflected three components explaining 59.1 % of the variance confidence in the process of lactation, competence to manage breastfeeding, and motivation to breastfeed. The BSES-SF scale score increased throughout lactation, with a greater increment in mothers with exclusive or predominant breastfeeding. The confidence component increased at 3 and 6 months. Both confidence and competence reached significantly higher values in mothers with exclusive or predominant breastfeeding at 3 months. The multiple regression analysis, with the three dimensions of the scale and 6 other predictors, confirmed that the competence component is the best to predict breastfeeding maintenance (β: 0.479, p < 0.0001).

Discussion And Conclusion: our results support a three-dimensional structure of the scale. Competence is the component that best predicts breastfeeding continuity at 6 months and is where strategies to improve breastfeeding rates should be directed.