Validation of the Arabic Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale (MBFES-A) among Lebanese women

Abstract Background Maternal satisfaction with the breastfeeding experience is an important determinant of breastfeeding success. There is currently no valid tool to measure perceived maternal satisfaction with breastfeeding in the Arab context. Methods This cohort study tested the Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale (MBFES) on 450 healthy Lebanese mothers for internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Participants were recruited between April 2018 and February 2020. Results The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of the Arabic MBFES (MBFES-A) was 0.87. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that it has three components: Infant Satisfaction/Growth, Maternal Enjoyment/Role Attainment, and Lifestyle/Body Image with reliability coefficients of 0.88, 0.87, and 0.68, respectively. Four items were deleted because of low factor loadings and three items were relocated to the Infant Satisfaction/Growth subscale based on their factor loadings. Participants who were exclusively breastfeeding at one and/or 3 months had higher mean MBFES-A total and Infant Satisfaction/Growth and Maternal Enjoyment/Role Attainment subscale scores than participants who were partially breastfeeding, and significantly higher mean scores than mothers who were not breastfeeding (all p values