Table 2 Measures included in the quantitative assessment of participation in the BFS program

Maternal functional impairment

World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0)

12-item measure using a 5-point Likert scale asking respondents to indicate the level of difficultly they have due to health conditions over the past two-weeks. 3 additional items ask respondents to indicate the number of days 1) difficulties were present, 2) difficulties prevented you from engaging in your daily activities, and 3) days you had to cut back on usual activities.

General psychosocial distress

Kessler psychological distress scale-6 item (K-6)

Six-item measure using a 7-point Likert scale asking respondents about experiences of distress over the past two-weeks.

Depression symptoms*

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

Nine-item measure using a 4-point Likert scale, asking respondents to indicate the number of days over the past two-weeks they had experienced each depression symptom

Post-traumatic stress symptoms

PTSD Checklist (PCL-6)

Six-item measure using a 5-point Likert scale, asking respondents to indicate how much they have been bothered by each problem in the past two weeks.

Mother-child interactions

Seven-item measure that is used to rate four minutes of unstructured play between the mother and child.

Quality of Breastfeeding practices*

WHO BREAST Feed Observation form

An observation checklist assessing signs of a successful breastfeeding and signs of possible difficulties across six domains (body position, responses, emotional bonding, anatomy, suckling and time spent suckling).

Child health and growth

MUAC, illness inventory, WAZ/HAZ/WHZ

Mid-upper arm circumference, illness symptoms over the past two weeks (fever, diarrhea, respiratory difficulties, loss of appetite, skin problems, oedema, vomiting), WAZ (underweight for age), HAZ (stunting- low height for age), WHZ (wasting- low weight for height).