Still thinking about this here...and I'm learning more and more each time I come back. Thanks for the links everyone!

I got to thinking today...maybe...just maybe...the tradition of "not bathing for 30 days" is meant literally. No filling of the bathtub and emersing a post partum body into deep water. Maybe it's a belief that the "scum" (pardon the phrase for lack of a better one) that sheds from a new mother's body is thought to be "unhealthy" if it somehow gets up into the brand new mother's birth canal. Ergo, the reason why CP's mother said to ONLY wash with a cloth.

It's an ancient tradition...right? And showers were unheard of back then, as far as I know. So, it could be passed down from a medical stand point. If this is indeed the case...I see no reason why a shower wouldn't be an appropriate alternative to an actual bath. I mean...ewwwwwww...some of the things a body can expel during/after childbirth isn't some of the most fragrant or especially soothing oozes...huh? I'd be shocked if I did this according to tradition and still had family or friends within 20 feet of me after 5 days...let alone 30! I don't mean to make light of tradition...but there's some powerful odor and ooze after childbirth (from sweating and from the afterbirth, and bleeding and possibly feces being pushed out) that I doubt I could even stay in the same room with me!

Though, I'm still leaning towards the prior reason I stated. Ancient Chinese woman's secret...to keep hubby at bay till we "feel up to" sex again! The first known birth control!

I have to admit, this is a damn interesting thread!

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~