Ilocano beliefs and practices

 Ilocanos belives that it is not good to go out at night if you are pregnant because

 She sits on a mat and never on the bare floor, to avoid having gas pains. 

 She always has grains of salt with her whenever she leaves the house to ward off evil spirits who may take
away her unborn child.

 When cooking, she must thrust the bigger pieces of firewood into the fire before the smaller pieces, a
practice said to ensure a normal delivery.

 On the sixth month of pregnancy, the mother's dreams, her physical and emotional state, the food she eats,
and the fetal position are taken as indications of the child's sex.

 Only a select few are allowed inside the house while the woman is in labor. These are
the mangilot (midwife), the husband, his parents and the couple's other children, if any. This is because of
the belief that the presence of unlucky people could cause a difficult delivery.

 A woman expecting a baby should not lie across the width of the bed or by the doorway because she may
have difficulty in delivery. 

 The washing of  clothes and the mat used during delivery is done only during the day with proper
ceremony. The clothes must not be washed in the shallow part of the river where the current is swift and
noisy for this would make the child naughty and irritable.

 After the delivery, the anglem is made. This consists of burning twisted rugs placed in an earthen jar
called bak-ka to drive away evil spirits and to make the navel of the baby heal faster.

 The neonate is given ampalaya juice mixed with castor oil to expel impurities taken in while it was still in
the mother's womb.

 Ilocano mothers go through a process of inhaling smoke from medicinal incense while a bowl of hot coals
warms her wounds. Called sidor, this is said to relieve the mother’s pains and reposition the displaced
uterus.