Adaptation of Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude scale in Mexican population

INTRODUCTION: Breast milk is the ideal food for the infant. However, in Mexico the frequency of breastfeeding has declined in the last decade, to 14.4%. One way to address this problem is to identify maternal attitudes towards breastfeeding, since it is a modifiable factor. The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) is used to achieve this goal, but has not been validated in Mexico. OBJECTIVE: To adapt scale of attitudes towards infant feeding in Mexico. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A transversal study with reverse translation and cultural adaptation and consensus among experts for redaction and conceptual equivalence of items of the scale IIFAS to Spanish, to determine their validity and reliability. RESULTS: The adapted scale was applied to 385 pregnant women, with only 16.3% showed positive attitude to breastfeeding. Instrument reliability (Cronbach a 0.65) and construct validity with exploratory factor analysis was determined. CONCLUSIONS: the scale of attitudes towards infant feeding IIFAS Spanish Mexican version can be considered valid and reliable for use in our environment.