Reliability and validity of a breastfeeding attitudes instrument for nursing staff

An instrument was designed and validated with the purpose of identifying attitudes towards breastfeeding among nursing professionals. The preliminary instrument contained 19 items which were submitted to experts in the field of human lactation and breastfeeding for content validity. The construct validity was measured through factor analysis and matrix correlation. Four factors were identified in the analysis. Overall internal consistency of the instrument was 0.83, with a subscale's range fluctuating from 0.64 to 0.73. The instrument is valid and reliable, and it is the first of its nature in Puerto Rico.