Table 2.

Exploratory factor analysis of the Japanese Midwives Professional Autonomy Scale N=399

		Factor					Reliability coefficient Cronbach’s α (Total scale =0.95)
		I	II	III	IV	V
Factor I Perinatal midwifery practice ability (9 items)							0.94
28	I can provide midwifery care to help new mothers approach childcare positively.	0.88	–0.07	0.11	–0.06	0.01
30	I can provide midwifery care to help newborns adapt to life outside the womb.	0.88	0.10	–0.05	–0.08	–0.05
29	I can provide midwifery care to prevent deviation from the normal events that could occur after childbirth.	0.85	0.01	–0.01	0.05	–0.03
31	I can provide midwifery care that promotes attachment between mother and child and the family.	0.85	–0.08	0.15	–0.04	–0.10
27	I can provide midwifery care to support breastfeeding.	0.76	–0.07	0.04	0.06	0.02
32	I can judge deviation from the norm in newborns (neonatal asphyxia, jaundice, poor suckling, etc.).	0.61	0.17	–0.10	0.19	–0.05
26	I can provide midwifery care to facilitate overall recovery in new mothers.	0.56	0.36	–0.01	–0.04	–0.02
20	I can provide midwifery care to prevent deviation from the normal events that could occur during pregnancy.	0.52	0.18	0.08	–0.03	0.15
21	I can judge deviation from the norm during pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension, fetal growth restriction, etc.)	0.43	0.15	0.01	0.07	0.11
Factor II Responsibilities in midwifery care (6 items)							0.89
22	I can provide midwifery care suited to the mother’s stage of delivery.	0.02	0.98	–0.02	–0.05	–0.09
24	I can provide midwifery care to prevent deviation from the normal events that could occur during the progression of childbirth (prolonged labor, infection, hemorrhage, etc.).	0.12	0.70	–0.10	0.08	0.09
23	I can provide midwifery care to allow the mother to actively participate in childbirth.	0.24	0.57	0.06	–0.09	0.07
9	I can take responsibility for the midwifery care I provided.	–0.08	0.55	0.34	0.04	–0.05
25	I can handle sudden emergencies in the mother or child (non-reassuring fetal status, atonic hemorrhage, eclampsia, etc.).	0.27	0.47	–0.16	0.20	0.04
1	I provide midwifery care based on a professional mindset.	–0.02	0.45	0.33	–0.05	–0.04
Factor IIICaring in midwifery care (4 items)							0.83
5	I can provide midwifery care that respects the values of the mother and family (culture, religion, etc.).	–0.02	0.04	0.74	–0.01	0.02
6	I can respect reproductive health/rights.	0.06	–0.10	0.72	–0.01	0.10
7	I can express my opinion while respecting the other person’s opinion.	0.05	0.03	0.64	0.06	–0.03
8	I can provide support according to changes in the responses of the mother, child, and family.	0.19	0.07	0.53	0.09	–0.02
Factor IVCollaboration and cooperation in midwifery care (3 items)							0.85
14	I can collaborate with other professionals (doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, etc.).	–0.07	0.02	0.06	0.88	–0.03
13	I can cooperate with other departments in the event of an emergency.	0.04	0.03	–0.04	0.84	0.03
15	I can coordinate with other professionals (public health nurses, social workers, etc.) to work toward the discharge of mothers and children who require support.	0.17	–0.09	0.15	0.57	–0.01
Factor VBrush up on midwifery care (2 items)							0.69
18	I can work on research for midwifery practice.	0.03	–0.05	–0.03	–0.03	0.88
17	I can participate in conferences and training outside the hospital to gain new knowledge and skills on my own.	–0.11	0.03	0.12	0.04	0.60
	Correlations between factors I	–	0.78	0.66	0.71	0.46
	II		–	0.56	0.68	0.46
	III			–	0.60	0.44
	IV				–	0.45
	V					–

Principal factor method, promax rotation, factor loading > 0.40, KMO: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin =0.96