The Mosque as a Site to Foster Maternal and Child Health

Abstract

Optimizing maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes within any population requires programming within hospital, outpatient clinic, and community settings. Our Grassroots MCH Initiative (GMCHI) focuses on building the capacity of community members and organizations within marginalized communities to create systems change that improves MCH outcomes. The Muslim community within America often feels marginalized because of language and cultural barriers. The first author of this report is committed to serving Muslim communities following his 2016 Fulbright Scholar experience at Hassan 1st University in Settat, Morocco, wherein he worked to grow the nation’s first MPH program. In spring 2022, his collaborator from Hassan 1st (author L.A.) served as a Fulbright Scholar on his GMCHI team. They partnered with a local mosque, which primarily serves West African immigrants, to create programming that fosters improved MCH outcomes. We initiated our efforts by training two women in the mosque with our Grassroots MCH Leadership training curriculum. To help create appropriate programming, we asked the mosque leadership their priorities and we surveyed women in the mosque to understand their needs and interests. We then hosted a MCH fair during Eid al-Fitr that: a) provided connections to local MCH health/social services, and b) distributed essential infant care and home safety supplies. We developed and circulated, across the mosque’s social media platforms, a series of 13 MCH instructional messages in English, French, and Arabic to raise MCH awareness and provide families simple intervention strategies for MCH issues. We are now growing a novel legal clinic within the mosque to address the legal needs of members. Our work is an example of how Fulbright support can foster knowledge and collaborations that improve global MCH.