Health-related maternal practices of immigrant Muslim mothers in the United State

Abstract

This study examines maternal practices of immigrant Muslim mothers in the United States to understand how they share their health values with their American Muslim adolescent daughters. The maternal practices were studied in the context of each family’s and especially the mother’s religious and cultural values. Further, the influence of religion, culture of origin and acculturation on immigrant Muslim mothers’ values and thus maternal practices in the United States was examined. Using a criterion sampling strategy, 11 immigrant Muslim mothers and their American Muslim adolescent daughters who were born and raised in the United States were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analysed using a phenomenological approach. Mothers in this study showed that their health values were shaped by Islam, culture origin and the acculturation factor. Mothers shared health values with their adolescent daughters by being available, monitoring their health behaviours, engaging in healthy communication with them, and modelling healthy behaviours. Understanding these maternal factors will help create effective health education to support immigrant Muslim mothers serve as a protective factor for their adolescent daughters, help them make healthy choices, and follow healthy behaviours within Muslim communities in the United States.