Table 2.

Comparison of statistically significant items in the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) between mothers who exclusively breastfed to 6 months and those who did not: Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study ^1,2

IIFAS items	Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months		Difference mean ± SD
	No	Yes
	Mean ± SD	Mean ± SD
	n = 254	n = 46
Formula feeding is more convenient than breastfeeding (R)3	4.03 ± 0.97	4.36 ± 0.82	−0.32 ± 0.16
Formula feeding is the better choice if the mother plans to go back to work (R)3	3.74 ± 0.89	4.07 ± 0.78	−0.33 ± 0.15
Mothers who formula feed miss one of the great joys of motherhood	3.29 ± 1.08	3.76 ± 1.03	−0.48 ± 0.18
Women should not breastfeed in public places such as restaurants (R)3	4.30 ± 0.83	4.64 ± 0.58	−0.34 ± 0.11
Formula is as healthy for an infant as breast milk (R)3	3.43 ± 1.00	3.81 ± 0.80	−0.38 ± 0.14
Breastfeeding is more convenient than formula	3.97 ± 0.96	4.33 ± 0.79	−0.37 ± 0.16

SD: Standard deviation.

¹Of total 17 IIFAS items, only statistically significant scale items (n = 6) are shown due to copy-right restrictions (Independent sample t-test, 2-sided p-value < 0.05).

²IIFAS is comprised of 17 items and responses are on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. Total score ranges from 17-85, with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes toward breastfeeding.

³(R) indicates reverse-coded items.