Development of a Sleep Quality Scale for Breastfeeding Mothers and Evaluation of its Psychometric Properties

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool to assess sleep experiences among breastfeeding mothers during the postpartum period and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale. Methods: This methodological and cross-sectional study involved the development of a scale through item pool generation, content validity assessment, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analyses. A preliminary 15-item scale was developed based on expert opinions obtained using the Delphi technique. The study sample consisted of 150 primiparous mothers in the postpartum period (6–8 weeks). Data were analyzed using DataBeeg 1.0 and AMOS software. Results: After exploratory factor analysis, 9 items with low factor loadings were removed, resulting in a single-factor structure comprising 6 items. The single factor explained 49.83% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis fit indices indicated a good model fit (comparative fit index = 0.976; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.960; root mean square error of approximation = 0.063). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.791, demonstrating good internal consistency. Pearson correlation analysis conducted to assess concurrent validity revealed a significant negative correlation between the Sleep Quality Scale for Breastfeeding Mothers and the Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale (r = −0.519, P < 0.05). Conclusion and Implications: The findings indicate that the developed scale is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating postpartum sleep quality among breastfeeding mothers. Because of its limited number of items, the scale is expected to be practical and easy to use in both clinical and research settings.