4. The Aztecs Viewed Childbirth As A Battle
The goddess Tlazolteotl governed the Aztec realm of childbirth. Midwives, in service of Tlazolteotl, would oversee all Aztec pregnancies and deliveries. They followed the guidance of their deity which included encouraging women to have sex until the seventh month of their pregnancy and avoiding celestial occurrences such as solar eclipses, which were believed to harm unborn children.
When the time came for delivery, Aztec mothers would be overseen by the midwives who would prepare sedative drinks brewed from herbs and place warm stones on the mother to ease her pain and cramping. Upon successful delivery, the midwife would raise several war cries to celebrate the mother’s accomplishment. The Aztecs viewed childbirth as women’s war and treated with similar respect to actual warfare.
Women who died in childbirth were mourned and honored in the same manner as fallen soldiers and afforded the same social status. Women who died in childbirth were also sometimes depicted as a form of vengeful spirit known as cihuateteo which were believed to stalk and prey on adults and abduct children. While women were afforded minimal status in Aztec society and were mostly treated as property, they were highly valued for their ability to give birth to future generations of Aztecs.