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  Stepping into married life: Amr Mohamed and his bride, Hend Selim were married in a small village two hours outside of Luxor, Egypt. Established in 2004, the Mabrouk! initiative uses education and counseling to address health challenges for pregnant women and their babies, including malnutrition, hypertension and neural tube defects.

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  Traditional wedding, new style of education: Amr Mohamed and his bride, Hend Selim were married in a small village two hours outside of Luxor, Egypt. Established in 2004, the Mabrouk! initiative uses education and counseling to address health challenges for pregnant women and their babies, including malnutrition, hypertension and neural tube defects.

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  Direct community outreach is the key: Following the ceremony, nearly two hundred villagers joined the wedding festivities held in the groom's village of Gayaraa, Egypt. While the newlywed initiative distributes educational material to religious groups and medical facilities, face-to-face outreach by community health workers is one of the key components of reaching young couples.

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  Tapping into existing networks: 'Stick dancing' is a long-standing custom in Egypt that men often perform at weddings. The newlywed program redefines traditional gender roles by utilizing existing male networks to introduce female health topics.

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  The face of Egypt's future: With roughly 800,000 weddings per year and nearly 60 percent of the population under 25, young couples are shaping the future of Egypt. Early intervention at this stage in a relationship allows for proper planning of prenatal visits, medically assisted childbirth, post-partum care, family planning and spacing between births.

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  Couple commits to continuing education: In Al Jabail village, Saad Mohamed and his wife Madiha are expecting their first child. Since their marriage, the couple has been receiving regular counseling visits from community health worker Warda Hamed Aly.

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  Working to ensure a healthy child: Five months pregnant, Madiha is learning essential information she needs to deliver and care for a healthy baby. In addition to regular visits to the doctor, adequate prenatal care includes two tetanus shots during pregnancy, to prevent tetanus infection, and proper nutrition, to optimize the mother's health and the health of the baby.

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  A Nutritious Handful: To remind couples of the information they have learned, the 'Mabrouk!' booklet is enclosed in a frame that can be used to hold their wedding photo. After learning about the dangers of home birth, Saad and Madiha have been saving money to deliver safely in a hospital.

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  Dramatic improvements since campaign began: Since the start of the 'Mabrouk!' Initiative, targeted villages have experienced dramatic improvements in maternal and child health: a 30 percent increase in proper prenatal care; a 14 percent increase in births with skilled attendants; a 27 percent drop in underweight babies.

Gallery: Egyptian newlyweds Learn To Raise Healthy Babies

Egyptian newlyweds Learn To Raise Healthy Babies

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Established in 2004, the Mabrouk! initiative in Egypt uses education and counseling to address health challenges for pregnant women and their babies, including malnutrition, hypertension and neural tube defects.

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