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Development and Validation of the Infant Feeding Intentions Scale

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Abstract

Objectives There is a need in breastfeeding behavior studies for a quantitative measure of maternal breastfeeding intentions. The Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) scale was developed to fill this need. Methods Two items probe strength of intentions to initiate breastfeeding and subsequent items assess strength of intentions to be breastfeeding exclusively (EBF) at 1, 3, or 6 months. Total score ranges from 0 to 16. Content validity was established among women in their third trimester of pregnancy (n = 88). Subsequently, construct validity was assessed in a low-income, multi-ethnic cohort of primiparae (n = 170) interviewed at 25 ± 15 h postpartum and followed to 6 months. Results Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was 0.90 for both the content and construct validity samples. Construct validity was demonstrated by a significant association between IFI score and both planned and actual EBF duration: mean (+standard deviation) IFI scores were 4.6 ± 2.9, 7.5 ± 3.2, 10.3 ± 2.7, 12.0 ± 1.8, and 13.8 ± 2.7 for planned duration of EBF of ‘Never’, up to 1 month, 1 to <3 months, 3 to <6 months, and ≥6 months, respectively; ANOVA, P < 0.0001; and each 1-point increase in IFI score decreased the hazard of not EBF by 23.4% at day 0 and 13.7% at day 30 (Cox proportional hazards model chi-square = 92.5, P < 0.0001). Conclusions In a multi-ethnic U.S. sample of low-income primiparae, the IFI scale was shown to be a valid, simple tool for quantitatively assessing the strength of intentions to initiate and sustain EBF.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a gift from Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. We give special thanks to the mothers who volunteered for our interviews during an extraordinary time in their lives. We are grateful to our dedicated team of research staff and student interns who assisted with this study: Angelina Madrigal-Alonso, Leslie Lane, Barbora Rejmanek, Joli Roberts, Jessica Burke-Lazarus, Sadia Ghaffar, Daisy Mejia, Warren Wong, Angel Rodriguez and Stephanie Fallas. We thank Arlene Cullum, Mary Campbell Bliss, Wanda Alteri, Barbara Boehler, Kristi Gabel, and the Labor and Delivery staff at Sutter Memorial Hospital, Sacramento for their assistance with study subject recruitment.

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  1. Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, USA

    Laurie A. Nommsen-Rivers & Kathryn G. Dewey

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  1. Laurie A. Nommsen-Rivers
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  2. Kathryn G. Dewey
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Correspondence to Laurie A. Nommsen-Rivers.

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Nommsen-Rivers, L.A., Dewey, K.G. Development and Validation of the Infant Feeding Intentions Scale. Matern Child Health J 13, 334–342 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0356-y

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