Islamic teachings encourage healthy birth spacing and maternal care, scholars agree

An important consultative meeting was held in Islamabad on the topic of "Family Well-being, Maternal and Child Health and Rights in the Light of Islamic Teachings", organised jointly by the Population Council Pakistan and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Participants agreed that maternal and child health, family stability, responsible parenthood and appropriate birth spacing are consistent with Islamic teachings and essential for social well-being.

Chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad, Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology Pakistan Dr Raghub Hussain Naeemi, Director General of Religious Education and Training Dr Ghulam Qamar, Country Director of Population Council Pakistan Dr Ali Muhammad Mir, Chief (Population) at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Shakeel Ahmed, and UNFPA Pakistan Programme Analyst Dr Fareed Khan, among others, addressed the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad said that Allah Almighty had instructed in the Holy Quran that children should be breastfed for a full two years, highlighting the importance of maternal and child health as well as appropriate birth spacing.

He emphasised that improving maternal and child health, promoting family prosperity, ensuring social stability and building a healthy welfare-oriented society were pressing needs.

Addressing the meeting, Dr Raghub Hussain Naeemi said that children were a trust from Allah Almighty and that parents had a responsibility to provide them with healthcare, education, proper upbringing and other fundamental rights.

He added that the Quranic instruction to breastfeed children for two years also highlighted the importance of maternal and child health and appropriate birth spacing.

In his welcome address, Dr Ali Muhammad Mir said that a mother in Pakistan loses her life every 37 minutes due to childbirth-related complications.

He stressed that protecting maternal health and child welfare was not merely a medical issue but a collective social and moral responsibility. He added that healthy birth spacing was an effective way to save lives and that religious scholars had a particularly important role to play in raising awareness.

Presenting statistics on the occasion, Brigadier Professor Dr Maimoona Mushtaq said that repeated pregnancies and short intervals between births could adversely affect the health of both mothers and children.

She noted that appropriate birth spacing, timely medical care and improved nutrition could significantly improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Speakers emphasised that Islam encourages quality child-rearing, education and character development while attaching fundamental importance to maternal and child health, family stability, a healthy welfare-oriented society and the protection of future generations.

During the meeting, religious scholars described maintaining a balance between population and available resources as consistent with Islamic principles and expressed their commitment to promoting accurate public awareness on the issue.

Sharing his views, Dr Fareed Khan stressed the importance of partnerships with religious leaders and communities to promote maternal and child health and raise awareness about birth spacing.

Shakeel Ahmed emphasised the need to take the meeting's recommendations forward at the policy level, while Dr Ghulam Qamar said that continued cooperation among religious scholars, medical experts and policymakers was essential to ensuring better maternal and child health and well-being.