Accouchement;

Women who have just given birth are referred to as “loğusa”, “lohsa”, “emzikli”, “loğsa”, “nevse”, or “kırklı”. The length of time a woman who has just had a baby will stay confined to bed depends on her own physiological condition, the question of whether the birth was a difficult or an easy one, climate, environmental considerations and how much the woman is loved by her family.

It is a common belief in Anatolia that women are under the influence of various supernatural forces during accouchement. “The grave of woman in accouchement is open for forty days” (the accouchement period is believed to last forty days), is a saying commonly used in traditional areas that supports this belief.

The idea of the “mother-snatcher” or “baby-snatcher”;

The mother or baby-snatcher is conceived of as disturbing women and newborn babies during accouchement and sometimes even killing them, and may be referred to as “al”, “cazı”, “cadı”, “al anası”, “al kızı”, “al karası”, “koncoloz”, “goncoloz”, and “kara koncoloz”.

People in Anatolia resort to a number of practices to protect against the mother or baby-snatcher, who is believed to live in stables, haylofts, mills, deserted ruins, wells, water sources and places where women in accouchement and newborn babies are left alone. Some of these practices are;

- Hanging brooms, Koran, onion, garlic, and blue beads believed to protect against the evil eye in the room where the woman and newborn baby lie,
- Inserting a needle or packing needle under the pillow of the woman or newborn baby,
- Placing sharp tools such as daggers, sickles, knives etc. under the pillow,
- Putting breadcrumbs and water in the room.

Practices related to the mother or baby-snatcher are still to be found, although much less frequently than in the past.

The forty-day threshold belief;

People in Anatolia call any sickness experienced by the mother or the baby and any failure to regain health within 40 days of giving birth as “the falling forties” or some similar name such as name; “kırk basması”, “kırk düşmesi”, “kırk karışması”, “loğusa basması”, and “aydaş”. It is a common belief that a number of living things and objects will harm mother and newborn baby in the forty-day period after birth. Practices and measures to prevent the ‘falling forties’ are very common.

In order to prevent the ‘falling forties’;

- Mother and baby are not allowed out for forty days,

- Care is taken not to bring together women and newborn babies who have not passed through this forty-day period.

The falling forties in a baby used to be related to poor development and weight loss. Various religious and magical practices were considered to be a remedy to prevent the falling forties.’ Nowadays, such practices are almost extinct.

Forty-day precautions;

Washing the mother and child within 40 days of birth to prevent them falling ill within that period is known as “making the forties”. It is commonly referred to as “kırklama”, or “kırk dökme” and “kırk çıkarma”.

The practice is commonly carried out on the 40th day after birth. This period differs according to region, however, and may be carried out on the 7th, 20th, 30th, 37th, 39th or 41st day. Although there may be some differences in procedure in different regions, the aim is the same.

“Making the forties” is still a common practice today as in the past among those customs and practices related to birth.