Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-hvd4g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-23T19:00:47.512Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 14 - Maternal and Child Health: An Islamic Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2025

By
Fatmah Almoayad
Edited by
Basil H. Aboul-Enein ,
G. Hussein Rassool ,
Nada Benajiba ,
Joshua Bernstein  and
MoezAlIslam E. Faris
Basil H. Aboul-Enein
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
G. Hussein Rassool
Affiliation:
Charles Sturt University
Nada Benajiba
Affiliation:
Ibn Tofail University
Joshua Bernstein
Affiliation:
A. T. Still University of Health Sciences
MoezAlIslam E. Faris
Affiliation:
Applied Science Private University
Get access

Summary

This chapter explores the Islamic teachings on pregnancy, breastfeeding, and child welfare, highlighting the religion’s emphasis on the well-being of mothers and children. It explores the Qur’anic verses and Prophetic Hadiths that underline the importance of social support, nutrition, and education in the lives of mothers and children. By aligning Islamic principles and global initiatives, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this chapter demonstrates the contributions of Islam to the universal pursuit of human development and well-being. This exploration aims to provide valuable insights into the role of Islam in promoting a supportive, nurturing, and educational environment for mothers and children, fostering a better understanding of the religion’s perspectives on these critical aspects.

Keywords

Maternal healthchild healthIslam
Type
Chapter
Information
Contemporary Islamic Perspectives in Public Health , pp. 86 - 91
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ki-Moon, B. Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. New York: United Nations. 2010.Google Scholar
Lu, M. C. The future of maternal and child health. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2019;23(1):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2643-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mohammed, A. J. A call to action: improving women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health in the Muslim world. The Lancet. 2018;391(10129):1458–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30182-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bedaso, A., Adams, J., Peng, W., & Sibbritt, D. The relationship between social support and mental health problems during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Reproductive Health. 2021;18(1):162. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01209-5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sahih Muslim. Sahih Muslim 1337. In-book reference: Book 15, Hadith 461. Available from: https://sunnah.com/muslim:1337Google Scholar
Sahih al-Bukhari. Sahih al-Bukhari 7288. In-book reference: Book 96, Hadith 19. Available from: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7288Google Scholar
Sahih al-Bukhari. Sahih al-Bukhari 1117. In-book reference: Book 18, Hadith 37. Available from: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1117Google Scholar
Sunan Abi Dawud. Sunan Abi Dawud 2408. In-book reference: Book 14, Hadith 96. Available from: https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2408Google Scholar
World Health Organization. The Best Start in Life: Breastfeeding for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases and the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the WHO European Region. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. 2020.Google Scholar
Slusser, W. Breastfeeding and maternal and infant health outcomes in developed countries. AAP Grand Rounds. 2007;18(2):15–16. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.18-2-15Google Scholar
Bensaid, B. Breastfeeding as a fundamental Islamic human right. Journal of Religion and Health. 2021;60(1):362–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00835-5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clifford, J. & McIntyre, E. Who supports breastfeeding? Breastfeeding Review. 2008;16(2):9–19.Google ScholarPubMed
Zaidi, F. Challenges and practices in infant feeding in Islam. British Journal of Midwifery. 2014;22(3):167–72. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2014.22.3.167CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Subudhi, S. & Sriraman, N. Islamic beliefs about milk kinship and donor human milk in the United States. Pediatrics. 2021;147(2):e20200441. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0441CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization. Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2003.Google Scholar
UNICEF. Convention on the Rights of the Child. [online]. 1989 [Accessed March 4, 2023]. Available from: www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-textGoogle Scholar
Omran, A. R. Children’s rights in Islam from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Population Sciences. 1990;9:77–88.Google ScholarPubMed
Ihwani, S. S., Muhtar, A., Musa, N., Yaakub, A., Mohamad, A. M., Hehsan, A., et al. An overview of sex education: comparison between Islam and Western perspectives. Al-Qanatir: International Journal of Islamic Studies. 2017;8(4):43–51.Google Scholar
Sunan Abi Dawud. Sunan Abi Dawud 4948. In-book reference: Book 43, Hadith 176. Available from: https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4948Google Scholar
Sunan Ibn Majah. Sunan Ibn Majah 224. In-book reference: Introduction, Hadith 224. Available from: https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:224Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×