Alice, 

Thanks for sharing that experience.  I'm surprised that such a belief
would be taken in a such a literal way.  Staying in bed for 40 days is
definitely bad for one's health, let alone personal attraction.  Just
imagine the potential for bed sores, leg thrombosis,  and possibly
septicemia for not taking a bath, etc.  No wonder there was so much
maternal mortality in the old days.

But I found a link to an old document that actually speaks about that,
except that it was a custom practiced by the Assyrians during the rule
of the Ottoman Turks in Turkey.  Go here and do a search for "40 days" 

http://www.aina.org/books/aov.htm

Victor


--- In ranchos@yahoogroups.com, Alicia Carrillo <alliecar@p...> wrote:
> Victor,
>  
> It definitely meant do not bathe for 40 days, it also meant do not
let the outside air hit the mother for 40 days.
>  
> When I had my first daughter I remember a tia telling me and I
quote. "Hija, cuando tengas tu bebe´ no dejes que te den un baño o
ducha". She then proceeded to tell me that when she had her children
here in the US they tried to make her bathe and she pretended to go
through the motions in the shower but she never let the water touch
her. She would just turn on the water in the shower to make them
believe she had taken a shower. I asked many questions because this
was foreign to me. That´s when she told me that it was bad for the
mother´s health and that the mother´s milk would dry up if she did,
this in addition to keeping the spouse away for 40 days. My thoughts
were of course if you don't bathe you will keep everyone away for 40 days.
>  
> Alicia Carrillo
> San Jose, Ca
>