Before birth the pregnant woman receeds from the community in order to bring a new member of the family into the world in this short period. Separation is not coincidental, instead it has socio-magical characteristics. As is commonly known men were never present during birth, in fact, it was hidden from them if possible, and if he happens to be in the vicinity he would be removed without question. Birth was similarly hidden from the mother of the woman who was giving birth, because of the belief that the birth will be lighter and that latter the child will receive all of his teeth without much pain.
Right after the child from the pregnant woman a placenta (posljedak or pošljedak) should exit, in order to finalise the procreation process. It was usually tossed in a river or stream. If the pregnant woman doesn't want to get pregnant in a couple of years, she will cut the placenta in four pieces, tie them into socks and bury in the ground. The pregnant woman is named lohusa in the next 40 days, because of a type of quarantine, since according to folk belief she is "as weak as a bird on a branch", and her hair needs to be completely covered with a white scarf, otherwise Jinn and devils will hang on her every hair and cause her harm.
Woman which assisted during birth is called ebejka, or shortened eba or bika, she covers the young mother immediately out of fear that she will freeze, because of the traditional belief that wind and cold bring numerous diseases. Besides the bed, but also the entire room need to be clean, so that lohusa can make a full recovery, which was often not long enough, usually the young mother would get up after three days and would be included in lighter housework. She did this mostly because of other people, i.e. so that she can keep her reputation of a worthy and hard-working woman, or earn such a reputation.
Before there was a rule that lohusa should rest seven days after birth while women from richer families stayed in bed between 14 and 40 days. But, that wasn't the only social difference. Antun Hangi describing the procedure of beautifying the child actually reveals a classic and inborn desire of the Bosnian people to look good, which was primarily an occupation of the more affluent part of the society, such as merchants, craftsmen and noblemen, while among most of the poor people such a custom wasn't particularly nurtured. The author writes:
As soon as ebejka washed the child and clad it, she strokes its head so that is more beautiful and formed well. As the ebejka is doing, so shall too the young mother, which needs to watch out that her child's forehead doesn't get too big. Bosnian people don't like large foreheads. A child which has a large forehead, is made fun of and is said that his forehead is big as a hangar. In order for a child's head to develop properly, it needs to be wrapped with not one, but two bandages. One goes from the forehead and is tied at the back, it is called connector, the other one goes underneath the beard and is tied at the top of the head, and it is called chin guard. These bandages are tied numerous times so much so that one feels sorry for the poor child, and once the bandages are removed we notice red markings on the head since the blood couldn't move freely in and out of the head. But they're not only striving to beautify the child and make his head of a proper shape, but all parts of the head, namely the forehead, nose, lips, eyes, ears, eyebrows and chin. Though I have to condemn this practice out of health reasons, I will mention how and why they do them. The forehead is usually covered with oil, thick milk or slime so that the child doesn't get wrinkles around the eyes. Folk, especially more common people, hold that people which have wrinkles around the eyes are troublemakers, ready to do all sorts of evil. A girl which would see large wrinkles in a boy wouldn't marry him. People love like that the nose of the child is nice looking and harmonious that's why they squeeze and thin the noses of the children since no one likes a wide nose. The eyes are usually stroked by mothers while nursing the child so that the eyes won't be murky and to turn out to be healthy clear and large since the larger the eyes, the dearer they are to the people. They tighten the ears and place them closer to the head so that they don't become large and loopy. Similarly they gather the lips of the child between the fingers so that they don't become large. They push the chin towards the throat so that it's not protruding like a saddle. The neck of the child is also stroked so that it is not too thick and that the child doesn't get goitre. They place ham-pamuk (cotton wool) on the child's chest so that the chest will get nourished and grow stronger. Similar things are done with the hand and feet of the child. They tighten them with bands like criminals so that the child looks like a little mummy. The lazy stomach is not exempt. It too needs to be tightened and furbished, so that the child is not tubby and a binge eater.
The mother is taking care to first nurse the child with the right bosom, since if she does so with the left initially the child will be left handed its entire life. Lactation among Bosnian women in the past lasted quite long, often a few years, there are testimonies that some mothers nursed their sons until they were fifteen. It was believed that it was desirable to nurse the male child for longer, because of the physical strength and growth, while the female child, it was not because it could turn out to be temperamental and promiscuous. There is a prevailing opinion among the Bosnian people that people in general have lost empathy, became less humane and sensible, since the younger generation of mothers stopped nursing their children. That natural and intimate contact of the mother and child during lactation, obviously has the same value for the human being as the need for food itself. Mother's bosom for the child are a source of gentleness and closeness, during contact with them the child develops both physically but also mentally, and thus builds consciousness about the relationship with others which needs to be intimate. It is noticeable that a large percentage of people which were nursed by their mother in their earliest age have a developed habit of hugging other people, they exchange small signs of tenderness while greeting, they're more open and with that more sociable. All of this also makes them more resilient to stress and everyday issues. It is evident that some environmental preferences and social habits we acquire during the period of lactation and if they're not offered to humans in their earliest age they then have smaller or greater consequences for our healthy development.
Nursing is an intimate moment and the mother will always take care that she doesn't nurse the child in front of someone else who is not her husband out of shame. Also, the woman hesitated to nurse her child in front of people who are not family members out of fear for spellbound eyes, since the evil effect of this spell can cause her to, allegedly, lose her milk. Similar scenario will happen to her if a drop of milk falls to the ground and she or someone else steps on it. If she becomes a victim of spellbound eyes or her own recklessness, and loses her milk, by the advice of the mother in law, she will look among her neighbours for some trahana (small dough used for soup) three years old, which she will cook at her home three times and eat, the milk will then return.
News of the new member in the family spread fast, especially if a son was born, and then the spread of the news would become a small competition because of the monetary reward which was given to the messenger. It is still today called muštuluk (good news).
There was also a custom to rip the shirt of the father on the chest when the good news is given to him, obviously that ritual had its origin in the pagan beliefs and rituals of fertility. Namely, a ritual recorded in Vlasenica describes that a woman in late pregnancy during the period of full moon would knead bread, and when the full moon showed up she would go around the house three times. She would break of one piece of bread and store it, the rest she would eat. When she gave birth she would then again wait for a full moon in order to rip the first shirt she made for her child at the chest and she would pass through the hole in the shirt the piece of bread that she made. She would then put the shirt on the child uttering: "As the moon is full in the sky, so may you be full as well." After a few months, when the child starts eating food other than his mother's milk, during the night of a full moon the mother would submerge that piece of bread into cow's milk and would give it to the child repeating the same formula.
The mother and the child usually never left the house until the period of 40 days has passed, and during the first few days of the child's birth one would avoid giving or loaning to others in the household, it was even forbidden to take out the trash when night fell. People took care not to bring in children's clothes which were washed and dried after sunset, until the sun has come out the next day and has warmed up the clothes. Otherwise the child could suffer from a disease called mračnica.
