Aztec Cihuateteo Childbirth Spirits

In Aztec mythology, giving birth was considered a woman's battle with the gods to win her child's life, so mothers who survived were honored, while those who died were believed to become vampiric spirits called Cihuateteo who stole other women's children. The Cihuateteo were said to haunt crossroads on certain dangerous days, bringing sickness, seizures, and child abductions. Aztecs built shrines to appease them and even guarded the bodies of women who died in childbirth, since warriors believed relics from these women could grant courage and deadly power in battle.

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