RECENTLY I have been studying about general female health in my Well Woman’s Care class, a required course for my midwifery degree.  Although I wasn’t expecting to study about woman’s health issues all through the lifecycle, I am finding a lot of valuable information to apply to my personal family, from adolescents through old age.

As a mother of teen daughters, I found much of the information to be really eye opening in terms of the implications of nutrition and physical activity of adolescent girls on their health all throughout adulthood.  I also realized that I haven't been doing a very good job of preparing my girls.

For example, I didn’t realize that the strength of our bones is dependent upon bone mass and that bone mass growth is at its peak in adolescents.  In fact, by age thirty, a woman’s bones begin to deteriorate with the most rapid deterioration occurring in the five to ten years after menopause, the time in senior women when the menses ceases. 

We will all experience this bone loss, however, how much our bodies can tolerate before becoming frail and crippled will depend a great deal on how much bone mass we accumulated in our teen years, subhan’Allah.

I, for one, was certainly not aware of, nor focused on the importance of taking care of my health during adolescence.  I had no idea how that would affect my strength as I age.  What’s worse is that I haven’t done much to teach my own daughters.

When I look at older women and see some very strong and agile into very old ages and others so frail and fragile at even younger ages, I realize that it’s more than just a matter of chance.  Most likely no one prepared them or told them how to take care when they were young. 

With this realization, I decided that it’s not fair to keep this important health information a secret from our girls.  Why let it be a gamble that many will lose if they are destined to live a long life?  We have an obligation to our daughters to provide them with the knowledge that will give them the opportunity to make healthy choices, as the choices they make now will affect them throughout their womanhood. 

Having this in mind, I decided to hold a one-day teen girl nutrition and exercise class.  However, I want it to be fun and interactive, insha’Allah, so it will be a combination class/party.  In fact it will be a celebration of entering womanhood.  Topics will include nutrition, exercise, and menstruation from an Islamic perspective.  I’m planning on healthy snacks that the girls will make and eat, games and prizes, physical activities, a gift exchange, and self esteem building activities.

When I announced this class to a small group of mothers in Riyadh, there was a great response.  In fact, many of them want to attend with their daughters, masha’Allah.  A few asked if I could coordinate a similar class for the premenstrual girls to introduce them to the upcoming changes of adolescents.  This sounds like another fun topic that could be incorporated into a great class/party too!  I will see how the first one goes and then work on that, insha’Allah.

For those mothers reading this and thinking, “What a good idea!” why not host one in your area?  Our daughters deserve the knowledge that will improve their chances for an active life throughout womanhood, insha’Allah.  We all have an obligation to guide our daughters and how much more benefit our efforts can be if we stand up as role models for other girls too, insha’Allah.  

Knowledge is power and motherhood is responsiblity.  What are you doing to get educated so that you can pass that on to your daughters?  Whether your contribution to their preparation be sending them to classes like mine or hosting your own doesn't matter.  What's important is that we do the best we can to perpare our girls.

Of course, all of this pales in comparison to preparation for akhira and that's another topic all together!  May Allah bless our daughters with long healthy lives and may each be among those who are pleasing to HIM and their parents.

 ©2011 aisha_alhajjar@yahoo.com, All Rights Reserved  (All writings are the original work of Aisha Al Hajjar and are based on her personal research, experiences, and opinions; they do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or this publication.)