People in Bursa Placing sharp tools such as daggers , sickles , knives etc . under the pillow or 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 Mersin 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 düÅ ¿ mesi ”, “ kırk karıÅ ¿ ması ”, “ loÄ ¿ usa basması ”, and “ aydaÅ ¿”. 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 . Emir SAL