This is a stone carving of Tlazolteotl, an Aztec figure shown giving birth, that is in the collection of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC. Photograph by The Washington Post When acquired in 1947 ...

bearing the mesmerizingly horrific likeness of the earth goddess Tlaltecuhtli (pronounced tlal-TEK-tli)—the symbol of the Aztec life and death cycle, squatting to give birth while drinking her ...

and red underwear to offer protection from a cleft palate and any other potential birth defects. The practice of wearing red underwear is also thought to date back to Aztec times when pregnant ...