Lamashtu

Unlike most Mesopotamian demons who were secondhand creatures, Lamashtu was a daughter of the sky god Anu — making her a fallen divine being rather than a demon created for evil purposes. She was driven from heaven for her monstrous nature. She descended to earth to attack pregnant women, cause miscarriages, and afflict newborns with illness. She is one of the oldest documented child-harming supernatural figures, with texts dating to the third millennium BCE.

Depicted as a hybrid: a lion or dog head on a human female body with the talons of a bird of prey, suckling a pig and a dog at her breasts. She stood in a boat or crouched over a pregnant woman. Her image was deliberately terrifying.

Caused miscarriages, premature birth, and infant death. Gave newborns lethal diseases through supernatural nursing. Could afflict the living with fever, wasting illness, and convulsions. Was specifically attracted to childbirth and new mothers.