Adaptation and validation of the Spanish version of the Being a Mother scale.

Background: Becoming a mother is a very important process because of the impact it can have on women and their families. Currently, there is no validated questionnaire that evaluates the process of becoming a mother in the Spanish population. Moreover, no consistent results have been obtained to identify significant differences between primiparous and multiparous mothers. Aim: (1) Linguistic and metric validation of the Being a Mother scale (BaM-13) in the Spanish population, (2) analysis of possible differences between primiparous and multiparous mothers' experience of motherhood. Methods: Instrumental design. In 2016-2017, a sample of 579 mothers with children between 6 and 11 months of age completed the Spanish version of BaM-13. The instrument was translated using forward and back translation. Construct validity, internal consistency, and criterion validity were empirically analyzed. Results: Factorial analyses showed that the scale presented two adequate factors. Internal consistency of the global scale ( Conclusions: The Spanish version of the BaM-13 scale is valid for measuring mothers' experience of motherhood in a wide range of domains. The findings of the study show the importance of considering parity in the experience of becoming a mother, highlighting the approach to postnatal bonding in primiparous mothers. Additionally, we underline that it should not be assumed that multiparous mothers experience fewer difficulties in their motherhood process.