Table 1 Language of validation, objective, sample population and mean BSES/BSES-SF scores for all included studies

Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES)

 Creedy 2003 [26]

To psychometrically test the BSES antenatally and at 1 and 16 weeks postpartum

Brisbane, Australia

276 women at 36 + weeks gestation recruited from a university hospital

English

Antenatal: 3rd trimester

Postnatal: 1 and 16 weeks

Antenatal: 126.16 (23.85)

1 week postnatal: 139.86 (23.87)

16 weeks postnatal: 142.26 (21.25)

8

 Dai 2003 [30]

To translate the BSES into Mandarin and determine its psychometric properties

Tianjin, China

186 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from an obstetric hospital

Mandarin Chinese

Postnatal: In-hospital

118.78 (16.53)

6

 Eksioglu 2011 [31]

To translate the BSES into Turkish and assess its psychometric properties

Altındağ, Izmir, Turkey

165 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from two mother and child health-care units

Turkish

Postnatal: 1, 4 and 8 weeks

1 week: 151.22 (12.39)

4 weeks: 154.99 (11.51)

8 weeks: 155.52 (11.35)

6

 Molina Torres 2003 [32]

To translate the BSES into Spanish and determine its psychometric properties

San Juan, Puerto Rico

100 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from a private hospital

Spanish

Postnatal: In-hospital

131.8 (22.07)

6

 Oriá 2009 [33]

To translate and psychometrically assess the BSES among women living in Fortaleza, Brazil

Fortaleza, Brazil

117 women 30 + weeks gestation recruited during a prenatal visit at a teaching hospital

Portuguese

Antenatal: third trimester

NR

5

Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale- Short Form (BSES-SF)

 Amini 2019 [28]

To evaluate the reliability and validity of the BSES-SF among Iranian mothers

Tehran, Iran

379 mothers recruited from a health centre

Persian

Postnatal: NR

50.80 (8.91)

6

 Asgarian 2020 [34]

To explore the validity and reliability of BSES-SF among Iranian Farsi-speaking mothers

Qom, Iran

174 women recruited from teaching hospital

Iranian Farsi

Postnatal: In-hospital

54.32 (10.5)

8

 Balaguer- Martinez 2022 [35]

To assesses the relationship between the BSES-SF score and the risk BF cessation and determine the cut-off point in the scale

Spain

1845 mothers with an infant born at term (> 37 weeks) part of the LAyDI cohort

Spanish

Postnatal: within 15 days post birth, plus 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-months post birth

59.76 (9.95)

7

 Basu 2020 [36]

To translate into Hindi and to psychometrically test the BSES-SF

North-East Delhi, India

210 women with a child under 1 year recruited from well-baby and immunization clinics at health centers

Hindi

Postnatal: timing not reported

54.7 (16.1)

7

 Boateng 2019 [37]

To adapt the BSES-SF to emphasize EBF for use in a setting where continued, but not exclusive breastfeeding is common; to conduct psychometric testing of this adapted scale

Gulu, Uganda

239 women recruited between 10–26 weeks gestation from a regional hospital

Acholi and Langi

Postnatal: 4 and 12 weeks

4 weeks: Cognitive Subscale: 13.5 (4.1)

Functional Subscale: 17.2 (4.3)

12 weeks: Cognitive Subscale: 13.6 (4.1)

Functional Subscale: 17.7 (4.3)

6

 Brandão 2018 [38]

To examine the psychometric characteristics of an antenatal version of the BSES-SF among pregnant Portuguese women

Northern Portugal

373 women between 30 and 34 gestational weeks, recruited from two public hospitals

Portuguese

Antenatal: 3rd trimester

57.93 (7.90)

6

 Chipojola 2022 [18]

To examine the psychometric properties of the paternal BSES-SF in Malawian fathers

Lilongwe, Malawi

180 fathers recruited from a hospital

Chichewa

Postnatal: In-hospital

50.2 (11.9)

7

 Dennis 2011 [39]

To psychometrically assess the BSES-SF antenatally and postnatally among adolescents

Winnipeg, Canada

100 adolescents (15–19 years) 37 + weeks gestation recruited from two prenatal clinics at a teaching hospital

English

Antenatal: 3rd trimester (34 weeks)

Postnatal: 1 and 4 weeks

Antenatal: 51.72 (7.69)

1 week postnatal: 56.23 (12.27)

6

 Dennis 2018 [19]

To assess the psychometric properties of the BSES–SF among fathers

Toronto, Canada

214 fathers recruited from a postpartum unit in a large teaching hospital

English

Postnatal: In-hospital and 6 weeks

In-hospital: 48.96 (NR)

6 weeks: 54.54 (NR)

6

 Dodt 2012 [40]

To psychometrically assess the BSES-SF among women living in northeast-Brazil

Fortaleza-CE, Brazil

294 low-income women were recruited from a teaching university hospital

Brazilian Portuguese

Postnatal: In-hospital

NR

6

 Dos Santos 2016 [41]

To verify the reliability and validity of the BSES-SF in Brazilian adolescent mothers

Brazil

79 adolescent (13–19 years) mothers were recruited from a public maternity institution

Brazilian Portuguese

Postnatal: In-hospital

56.58 (6.11)

7

 Gerhardsson 2014 [42]

To translate and psychometrically test the Swedish version of the BSES-SF

Uppsala, Sweden

120 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited at routine follow-up visits at the postnatal unit in a university hospital

Swedish

Postnatal: 1 week

57.4 (8.8)

7

 Gregory 2008 [43]

To psychometrically assess the BSES-SF among a multicultural sample of mothers living in the United Kingdom

Birmingham, United Kingdom

165 women 36 + weeks gestation recruited from the maternity ward in a hospital

English

Postnatal: in-hospital and 4 weeks

In-hospital: 46.46 (12.75)

7

 Handayani 2013 [24]

NR

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

18 women recruited with a child between 0–6 months

Indonesian

Postnatal: timing not reported

NR

6

 Husin 2017 [27]

To translate and assess psychometrics of the Malay version of BSES-SF in both antenatal and postnatal mothers

Malaysia

101 antenatal women 32 + weeks gestation recruited from maternal and child health clinic and 104 postnatal women 37 + weeks gestation recruited at first postnatal home visit

Malay

Antenatal: 3rd trimester

Postnatal: 1 week

Antenatal: 56.20 (8.75)

Postnatal: 58.97 (8.68)

7

 Iliadou 2020 [44]

To conduct psychometric testing of the Greek version of BSES-SF

Athens, Greece

173 women 32 + weeks gestation recruited from an outpatient maternity department at a hospital

Greek

Antenatal: 3rd trimester

Postnatal: 3 days

Antenatal: 44.2 (11.1)

Postnatal: 47.7 (12.1)

8

 Ip 2012 [45]

To translate the BSES-SF into Chinese and to examine its psychometric properties

Hong Kong

185 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from a hospital postpartum unit

Hong Kong Chinese

Postnatal: In-hospital, 4 and 24 weeks

In-hospital: 41.1 (10.7)

7

 Ip 2016 [46]

To establish the construct validity and prognostic ability of the Mandarin version of BSES-SF

Guangzhou, China

562 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from a teaching hospital

Chinese Mandarin

Postnatal: In-hospital

In-hospital: 47.3 (10.5)

6

 Küçükoğlu 2023 [20]

To translate and psychometrically test the PBSES-SF among Turkish fathers

Konya, Turkey

221 fathers with an infant aged 2–6 weeks recruited from pediatric outpatient clinics at 2 research hospitals

Turkish

Postnatal: 2–6 weeks

47.32 (NR)

6

 Maurer (n.d.) (Maurer, et al.: The breastfeeding self-efficacy scale - short form (BSES): German translation and psychometric assessment, unpublished)

To translate the BSES-SF into German and assess its psychometric properties

Germany and Austria

355 postpartum mothers via social media

German

Postnatal: up to 12 weeks

58.46 (8.42)

7

 McCarter-Spaulding 2010 [47]

To assess the psychometric properties of the BSES-SF in Black women in the United States

Northeastern United States

153 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from an urban teaching hospital

English

Postnatal: 1 and 4 weeks

Mean BSES-SF not reported

7

 McQueen 2013 [48]

To test the reliability and validity of the BSES-SF among Aboriginal women

Ontario, Canada

130 Aboriginal women recruited from an urban tertiary care hospital or a rural community hospital

English

Postnatal: In-hospital

In-hospital: 51.32 (11.74)

8

 Mituki 2017 [25]

To translate, validate and adapt the BSES‐SF tool in a resource restricted urban setting in Kenya

Kenya

42 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from prenatal clinic at a hospital

Kiswahili

NR

60.95 (10.36)

6

 Oliver-Roig 2012 [49]

To translate the BSES-SF into Spanish and assess its psychometric properties

Orihuela, Spain

135 women 36 + week gestation recruited from a public hospital

Spanish

Postnatal: In-hospital

51.94 (11.22)

6

 Otsuka 2008 [50]

To examine the relationship between maternal perceptions of insufficient milk and breastfeeding confidence using the BSES

Tokyo and Kusatsu, Japan

262 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from 2 obstetric hospitals

Japanese

Postnatal: In-hospital, 4-weeks

In-hospital: 44.7 (11.9)

4-weeks: 43.8 (12.3)

6

 Pavicic-Bosnjak 2012 [51]

To translate and psychometrically assess the Croatian version of the BSES-SF

Zagreb, Croatia

190 women recruited from a teaching hospital

Croatian

Postnatal: In-hospital

55 (7)

6

 Petrozzi 2016 [52]

To translate the BSES-SF into Italian and investigate its predictive ability

Lido di Camaiore, Italy

122 women recruited from a hospital

Italian

Postnatal: In-hospital

54.8 (9.4)

4

 Radwan 2022 [53]

To translate and examine the psychometric properties of the BSES-SF among mothers in the United Arab Emirates

Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Fujairah, United Arabic Emirates

457 women recruited from postpartum ward in 10 hospitals

Arabic

Postnatal: In-hospital

55.22 (11.93)

8

 Sandhi 2022 [29]

To assess the psychometric properties of the BSES-SF among Indonesian mothers

Yogyakarta City, Indonesia

237 mothers 37 + weeks gestation recruited from five public health centers

Bahasa Indonesia

Postnatal: timing not reported

56.4 (7.2)

6

 Tokat 2010 [54]

To translate and psychometrically assess the BSES-SF among pregnant and postpartum women in Turkey

Izmir, Turkey

144 pregnant women recruited during a regular antenatal visit at two private and two public outpatient clinics, and 150 women recruited from the postpartum ward at two public and one private hospital

Turkish

Antenatal: during their antenatal visit in the third trimester

Postnatal: In-hospital

Antenatal: 58.52 (8.8)

Postnatal: 60.09 (8.2)

8

 Tokat 2020 [21]

To psychometrically assess the Turkish version of the modified BSES-SF among mothers of preterm infants

Izmir, Turkey

135 mothers < 37 weeks’ gestation were recruited from a NICU

Turkish

Postnatal: 1 week

43.32 (5.76)

7

 Wheeler 2013 [22]

To psychometrically assess the modified BSES-SF among mothers of ill or preterm infants

Winnipeg, Canada

144 women of ill or preterm infants recruited from 2 hospitals

English

Postnatal: 1 week post hospital discharge

79.39 (9.98)

5

 Witten 2020 [55]

To translate and psychometrically test the reliability and validity of the BSES-SF in the context of South Africa

Northwest province, South Africa

180 mothers with an infant < 2 weeks were recruited from 8 primary health care clinics

Setswana

Postnatal: < 2 weeks

Median = 66 (IQR 62–68)

8

 Wutke 2007 [56]

To translate the BSES-SF into Polish and assess its psychometric properties

Lodz, Poland

105 women 37 + weeks gestation recruited from postpartum units in 5 hospitals

Polish

Postnatal: In-hospital

55.5 (8.4)

8

 Yang 2020 [23]

To translate, transculturally adapt and assess the psychometric properties of the modified BSES-SF among Chinese mothers of preterm infants

Hubei Province, China

153 women < 37 weeks gestation recruited from postpartum ward from two hospitals

Chinese

Postnatal: In-hospital

62.2 ± 16.1

6

 Zubaran 2010 [57]

To translate and psychometrically assess a Portuguese version of the BSES-SF

Brazil

89 women living in southern Brazil, recruited from a university teaching hospital

Brazilian Portuguese

Postnatal: Between 2 and 12 weeks

(6.22)

7