Examination of mothers' readiness status in transition to complementary feeding

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The first years of life are a unique period characterized by specific nutritional guidelines. Mothers' role in their children's nutrition is crucial during this period. This study aimed to develop a Scale to Assess Mothers' Readiness for the Transition to Complementary Feeding, test its validity and reliability, and examine the readiness of mothers of typically developing infants aged 4-6 months to transition to complementary feeding. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The first phase of the study was methodological, while the second phase was descriptive and cross-sectional. The study sample consisted of 200 mothers who met the inclusion criteria in the first phase, and 112 mothers in the second phase. During the scale development phase, content validity, construct validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis), and reliability analyses (Cronbach's alpha and test-retest) were conducted. Number, percentage, and mean values of the data obtained in the second phase were calculated, and independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA tests were used for comparison. Statistical significance was assessed at p<0.05. RESULTS: The Content Validity Index of the scale was above the cut-off value of 0.80. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett tests showed that the scale was suitable for factor analysis (0.828; p<0.001). As a result of the analyses, 10 items with low factor loadings were removed from the item pool, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed for the remaining 10-item structure. The fit indices were evaluated to be excellent and within acceptable limits. The Cronbach's Alpha Reliability Coefficient was 0.827. The fit between the test-retest measurements of the scale was found to be statistically significant (r: 0.675). In the second stage of the study, the total mean score indicating the readiness of the mothers for the transition to complementary feeding was found to be high (63.11±7.26). CONCLUSION: This study determined that the scale developed to assess mothers' readiness for the transition to complementary feeding was valid and reliable. It was found that mothers' occupation, fathers' occupation, place of residence, infant feeding habits, and information about complementary feeding all had an impact on mothers' readiness. Key Words: Breast feeding, complementary feeding, infant nutrition, mothers, child health