Lina Medina, the world’s youngest mother gave birth at 5
Lina Medina with her baby born on 14 May 1939
In 1939, in the remote area of a small Peruvian village, Lina Medina became what historians consider the youngest mother in the world at the age of 5. While hard to believe, doctors determined that Lina was physically able to get pregnant due to a rare medical condition called precocious puberty. Many of the circumstances around the young girl’s pregnancy remain unknown to this day, and her situation has baffled doctors and drawn public attention for the last century.
It was early spring when Lina’s parents noticed their daughter’s engorged stomach. As one of nine kids, the family lived in one of the poorest villages in Peru. But upon discovering their daughter’s stomach, they feared she had a tumor or some other deadly condition. They rushed her to the closest hospital in Pisco — a two-hour drive through the bumpy roads of Peru’s countryside. Upon examination by the doctors, it was determined that the cause of Lina’s enlarged stomach wasn’t due to cancer — she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Based on her September birthday, it was determined that Lina got pregnant at the age of 4. Word began to spread across the world that there was a five-year-old girl in Peru pregnant, as fascination and curiosity took over the world. Newspapers and reporters from all over the world asked the interview her, and there were scientific institutions that wanted to record her birth for educational purposes. However, Lina and her family adamantly did not want to be a part of the international attention that this was bringing.
Just a few weeks after the pregnancy was discovered by doctors, Lina gave birth to a baby boy via a Caesarian section on May 14, 1939. The small size of her body didn’t allow for a natural birth, but the baby’s delivery was successful and safe. The baby was named Gerardo, after Dr. Gerardo Lozada, the overseeing doctor on Lina’s case. Front page headlines worldwide read, “Five-and-Half-Year-old Mother and Baby Reported Doing Well.” Doctors worldwide tried to study and understand how a four-year-old girl could get pregnant and successfully carry a healthy baby to full term. After giving birth, Lina brought the baby back to their village, where they lived a mostly normal life. Doctors who visited her post-birth determined that Gerardo was a “perfectly normal” baby with an “above normal intelligence.” For the first several years of baby Gerardo’s life, he was raised to believe that Lina was his sister — not his mother. But when Lina was 15, he discovered that his sister was his mother.
The World's Youngest Mother: Pictures and the Astonishing Story of a Peruvian Woman Who Gave Birth at the Age of Five
Lina is the world's youngest documented mother in medical history. At the time of delivery on 14 May 1939 she was 5 years, 7 months and 17 days old
Back in 1939, a little girl named Lina Medina gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She was only five-years-old. This story is truly a medical marvel — one that is surely hard to believe. Born in Ticrapo, Castrovirreyna Province, Peru, to silversmith Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Losea. She was brought to a hospital by her parents at the age of five years due to increasing abdominal size. She was originally thought to have had a tumor, but her doctors determined she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Dr Gerardo Lozada took her to Lima to have other specialists confirm that Medina was pregnant.
A month and a half after the original diagnosis, Medina, at the age of 5 years, 7 months, and 21 days, gave birth to a boy by a caesarean section on 14 May 1939, which made her the youngest known person in history to give birth. Medina's son weighed 2.7 kg (6.0 lb) at birth and was named Gerardo after her doctor. The caesarean birth was necessitated by her small pelvis. The surgery was performed by Lozada and Dr Busalleu, with Dr Colareta providing anaesthesia. When doctors performed the caesarean to deliver her baby, they found she already had fully mature sexual organs from precocious puberty. Her case was reported in detail by Dr. Edmundo Escomel in the medical journal La Presse Médicale, including the additional details that her menarche had occurred at eight months of age, in contrast to a past report stating that she had been having regular periods since she was three years old. The report also detailed that she had prominent breast development by the age of four. By age five, her figure displayed pelvic widening and advanced bone maturation.
Medina has never revealed the father of the child nor the circumstances of her impregnation. Escomel suggested she might not actually know herself by writing that Medina "couldn't give precise responses". Although Lina's father was arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse, he was later released due to lack of evidence, and the biological father was never identified. Throughout the years, many people have called her story a complete hoax, however, a number of doctors over the years have verified it based on biopsies, X rays of the fetal skeleton in utero, and photographs taken by the doctors caring for her. Gerardo was raised believing that Medina was his sister, but found out at the age of 10 that she was, in fact, his mother. He died in 1979 at the age of 40, from either bone cancer or a bone marrow infection.
The World’s Youngest Mother Who Gave Birth at the Age of 5
Lina Medina after giving birth on 14 May 1939
Lina Marcela Medina is confirmed to be the youngest person to give birth at the age of 5 years and 7 months old. Lina was born on September 23, 1933, in Peru. She came from what seemed to be a humble family, her mother by the name of Victoria Losea who was a housemaker, and her father by the name of Tiburelo Medina who was a silversmith.
At the age of 5 and 6 months, her parents noticed an abnormal abdominal swelling which at first sight they thought it could have been some sort of tumor but would have never guessed that upon diagnosis from Dr. Gerardo Lozada, Lina was actually 7 months pregnant. At first, the parents didn’t even imagine that it is possible to be pregnant at that age and took Dr. Gerardo for a fool. Therefore they have taken Lina to a specialist which actually confirmed the original diagnosis. Upon hearing this news the doctors called the police who immediately arrested Lina’s father as the first suspect. After a week of interrogation, the police had to let Tiburelo go as they didn’t have enough evidence to prove that the father had impregnated his own child. The second suspect was Lina’s cousin who apparently had mental difficulties which made the authorities think he would be capable of such a horrific act, but once again with no evidence, the police were not able to prosecute him as the father of Lina’s child. The authorities tried to get some answers from Lina in the presence of her mother to see if she remembered anyone harming her or raping her. With the child extremely confused about everything that was happening to her, the police once again had no lead to a potential suspect or suspect. With no further evidence, nor leads, the authorities dropped the case.
In an article about the case from 1955, the author Luis Leon states that many of the remote villages in Peru held regular “religious festivals” that lead to group sex or even rape which did include minors or children of such young ages as Lina. In the absence of a more plausible theory on Lina’s case, it is believed that she was in fact raped at one of these strange and sick festivals. Due to her young age and undeveloped body for a pregnancy, the only way for her to give birth to the baby was via a cesarean section, this implicated many risks that could have put Lina’s life at risk. When Lina was 8 months pregnant and her parents were pressured by the media, her mother did confess that Lina started her menstruation at the age of 3. It was later found out by specialists that she suffered from a condition known as precocious puberty, meaning that her sexual organs would develop at a very young age, Glands that secrete growth and sex hormones begin to function abnormally early in life resulting in this condition. The exact cause of this condition is still unknown.
The World’s Youngest Mother — A Five-Year-Old Child
A photograph of Lina Madina and a nurse with the baby — taken minutes after Lina Medina’s delivery(Photo source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born to a local silversmith on September 23, 1933, in Ticrapo, a poor Peruvian village, Lina Medina was one of the nine children of Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Locea. When Lina was just five years old, her stomach began to swell. Her parents were sure it was an abdominal tumor so they took her to see a doctor. After examining the child, the doctor found that she was not suffering from a tumor but was seven months pregnant. A child having a child? They wondered. How is that even possible?
What Happened? Lina Medina is said to have suffered a rare condition called Precocious Puberty. Precocious puberty is a condition where a child’s body begins to transition into that of an adult. This usually happens before age eight in females and age nine in males. The condition is said to affect about one in every 10,000 children and is 10 times more in girls than boys. The condition can be a result of hormonal disorders, infections, or other developmental abnormalities but one of the alleged causes of Precocious Puberty is early exposure to sexual activities. That is when a child begins to have sexual intercourse. In females, the girl begins to mensurate and develop prematurely.
But according to Dr. Edmundo Escomel, Lina began mensurating at just eight months old so how could that have been the case? Though later reports claimed she had her first period at the age of three and not eight months. Whichever the case, you would agree this was quite mysterious as to date, the truth is unknown.
The Story Of Lina Medina, The Youngest Mother In The World
Lina Medina, the youngest mother in history, likely had a rare condition called precocious puberty
Lina Medina was only five years old when a doctor discovered she was seven months pregnant. And on May 14, 1939, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Gerardo. In the early spring of 1939, parents in a remote Peruvian village noticed that their 5-year-old daughter had an enlarged belly. Fearful that the swelling was a tumor, Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Losea took their little girl, Lina Medina, from the family’s home in Ticrapo to see a doctor in Lima.
To the parents’ shock, the doctor discovered that Lina Medina was seven months pregnant. And on May 14, 1939, Medina gave birth via C-section to a healthy baby boy. At 5 years, seven months, and 21 days of age, she became the youngest mother in the world.
Medina’s case took pediatricians by surprise and attracted international attention that she and her family never wanted. To this day, Medina has never told authorities who the father was, and she and her family still shun publicity and avoid any opportunity for a tell-all interview. Despite the mystery that continues to surround the case of the world’s youngest mother, more insight has come to light on how Lina Medina got pregnant — and who the father may have been.
What 'precocious puberty' means and how a 5-year-old became the world's youngest mother
Lina Medina with her son
Back in 1939, a girl named Lina Medina gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The only note-worthy detail in this was the girl's age: she was only five-years-old. This story is truly a medical marvel -- one that is surely hard to believe.
Lina lived in a small Peruvian village located 7,400 feet up in the mountains -- the nation's poorest region. The girl's parents initially thought their daughter was suffering from a massive abdominal tumour, but after being examined by doctors in Pisco, Peru, they discovered she was eight-months pregnant. Medina's condition certainly came as a surprise to everybody who studied the case, but among pediatric endocrinologists, it wasn't entirely unthinkable. About one in every 10,000 children develop a condition known as precocious puberty and Medina was one of those kids.
What is precocious puberty? Puberty that begins before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys is considered precocious puberty. Roughly ten times more girls than boys develop this way, and there is a reason to suspect that it might be accelerated by sexual contact at an early age. Puberty includes rapid growth of bones and muscles, changes in body shape and size, and development of the body's ability to reproduce. The cause of precocious puberty often can't be found. Rarely, certain conditions, such as infections, hormone disorders, tumours, brain abnormalities or injuries, may cause precocious puberty.
Lina Medina
Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado born on 23 September 1933
Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlina meˈðina]; born 23 September 1933) is a Peruvian woman who became the youngest confirmed mother in history when she gave birth on 14 May 1939, aged five years, seven months, and 21 days. Based on the medical assessments of her pregnancy, she was less than five years old when she became pregnant, which was possible due to precocious puberty.
Lina Medina was born in 1933 in Ticrapo, Castrovirreyna Province, Peru, to parents Tiburelo Medina, a silversmith, and Victoria Losea. She was one of nine children. Her parents took her to a hospital in Pisco at age five due to increasing abdominal size. Doctors originally thought she had a tumor but then determined that she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Dr. Gerardo Lozada had specialists in Lima confirm the pregnancy. There was widespread interest in the case. The San Antonio Light newspaper in Texas reported in its 16 July 1939 edition that a Peruvian obstetrician and midwife association had demanded she be admitted to a national maternity hospital, and quoted reports in the Peruvian paper La Crónica that an American film studio had sent a representative "with authority to offer the sum of $5,000 to benefit the minor" in return for filming rights, but "we know that the offer was rejected".[6] The article noted that Lozada had made films of Medina for scientific documentation and had shown them while addressing Peru's National Academy of Medicine. Some of the films had fallen into a river on a visit to the girl's hometown, but enough remained to "intrigue the learned savants".
Six weeks after the diagnosis, on 14 May 1939, Medina gave birth to a boy by caesarean section. She was 5 years, 7 months, and 21 days old, the youngest person in history to give birth. The caesarean birth was necessitated by her small pelvis. The surgery was performed by Lozada and Dr. Busalleu, with Dr. Colareta providing anaesthesia. The doctors found she had fully mature sexual organs from precocious puberty. Dr. Edmundo Escomel reported her case in the medical journal La Presse Médicale, including that her menarche had occurred at eight months of age, in contrast to previous reports that she had had regular periods since the age of three or two and a half. Medina's son weighed 2.7 kg (6.0 lb; 0.43 st) at birth and was named Gerardo after her doctor. He was raised believing Medina to be his sister before finding out at age 10 that she was his mother. After initially remaining with the family, Lozada was allowed to take custody of the son at Lozada's home in Lima. Subsequently, he employed Lina at his clinic in Lima (where she also resided), though Lina was only able to see her son occasionally. Her son grew up healthy but died in 1979 at the age of 40 from bone marrow disease. According to Peruvian law, the mere fact of Medina's pregnancy meant that she had been raped at some point before her fifth birthday. Medina has never revealed the identity of the father nor the circumstances of her impregnation. Escomel suggests that she might not know herself, as she "couldn't give precise responses". Lina's father was arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse but released due to lack of evidence.
Was the World's Youngest Mother Only 5 Years Old?
Lina Medina, a Peruvian girl from the Andean village of Ticrapo who made medical history when she gave birth to a boy by caesarean section in May 1939.
Although we can see a tremendous amount of variety in the plant and animal life all around us, both within and between species, many of us still find extremes in variety among human beings somewhat disconcerting. While an extraordinarily large dog or a cat with an unusually long tail may be regarded as nothing more than a momentarily interesting curiosity or a source of amusement, people who exhibit one of the extremes in human development — whether it be in intelligence, height, weight, or some other feature — have long struggled to avoid being identified as "freaks." Perhaps the most discomfiting record of this nature involves the youngest person ever to give birth, reputedly a five-year-old girl — not only because such a record posits that a child barely of kindergarten age involuntarily underwent an experience we associate with physical and psychological maturity, but also because it implies the commission of an act now considered to be nothing less than child molestation.
Regardless of our squeamishness, we have to note that the claim of a five-year-old girl giving birth is true. Her name was Lina Medina, a Peruvian girl from the Andean village of Ticrapo who made medical history when she gave birth to a boy by caesarean section in May 1939 at the age of five years, seven months and 21 days. Lina's parents initially thought their daughter had a large abdominal tumor, but after they took her to a hospital in the town of Pisco physicians confirmed that her abdominal swelling was due to pregnancy. Lina was eventually transferred to a hospital in Lima, where she delivered a six-pound baby boy by Cesarean section on 14 May 1939 (coincidentally the date on which Mother's Day was celebrated that year). Lina's father was temporarily jailed on suspicion of incest, but he was released for a lack of evidence and authorities were never able to determine who fathered Lina's child.
The World’s Youngest Mothers: Heartbreaking Stories
It was a day like any other in the small town of Lina Medina in Peru. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, but little did anyone know that a 5-year-old girl named Lina was about to become the youngest mother in the world. Her story is just one of many that sheds light on the devastating reality faced by young girls who are forced to bear the burden of motherhood at an age when they should be playing with dolls and running carefree through the fields. The heart-wrenching tales of these young mothers serve as a stark reminder of the countless untold stories of innocence lost and dreams shattered, a reality that is far too often overlooked in the world today.
Contents:
- Discovering the Shocking Reality of Youngest Mothers Worldwide
- Understanding the Social and Cultural Factors Behind Adolescent Motherhood
- The Emotional and Psychological Toll on Young Mothers
- How Society Can Better Support and Empower Adolescent Mothers
- Breaking the Cycle: Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy thru Education & Access to Resources
The Stories Behind 7 of the World’s Youngest Mothers and Where They are Now
We can all agree that being mums is a pretty amazing thing. But for many young women, girls even, they became mothers much earlier than most would deem appropriate. Little girls should not be worrying about a growing belly, especially before they are even teenagers.
These are some of the world’s youngest mothers, all under the age of 13 when they welcomed their children:
- 5 years old: Lina Medina
- 11 years old: Name unknown
- 11 years old: Kordeza Zhelyazkova
- 12 years old: Name unknown
- 12 years old: Kathleen Moss
- 12 years old: Tressa Middleton
- 13 years old: Charlotte Maddox
World’s youngest mothers on record:
- The youngest mother in the world is reportedly Lina Medina, as mentioned above. She was five years and seven months.
- There are also two recorded cases of young girls having babies at 6 years of age, one from India and one from Ukraine. Both occurred in the 1930s.
- An 8-year-old-girl gave birth to a healthy baby boy, fathered by a nine-year-old in China. They are the youngest recorded parents, in combined age.
- There are also several recorded cases of 8 and 9-year-old girls having babies. Many took place well before 1950 and most involved rape. This is also the case for the dozens of young girls around the world recorded to have given birth at the age of 10.
- In most instances, the details surrounding the conception and birth are unknown and we can only hope they’ve received the support they needed when faced with such a big responsibility at such a young age.
The Top 10 Youngest Mothers in the World: Unveiling Startling Stories of Early Motherhood
Becoming a parent is a life-changing experience that requires maturity, responsibility, and emotional readiness. However, there are instances where individuals become parents at a remarkably young age, defying societal norms and facing unique challenges. In this article, we delve into the intriguing world of young mothers and explore the top 10 youngest mothers in the world. From their stories, we gain insights into the complexities of their lives and the impact of their early parenthood.
The journey of a young mother is not an easy one, as she navigates the responsibilities of raising a child while still grappling with her own adolescence. Teenage pregnancies can occur for various reasons, including lack of education, limited access to contraceptives, cultural factors, or simply a lack of awareness about safe sex practices. The stories of the youngest mothers in the world shed light on the complex societal issues surrounding early parenthood.
One of the youngest mothers on record is Lina Medina from Peru, who gave birth at the tender age of 5 years and 7 months. Her case remains a medical marvel and raises ethical questions about child exploitation and early sexual development. While her situation is extreme, it serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by young mothers worldwide. Here are some facts about the top 10 youngest mothers in the world:
- Lina Medina holds the record for being the youngest confirmed mother in medical history. She gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 5 years and 7 months in 1939.
- The youngest mother in the United Kingdom is believed to be Tressa Middleton, who gave birth at the age of 12 in 2006.
- Yelizaveta “Liza” Gryshchenko from Ukraine became a mother at the age of 10 in 2016.
- In 1933, a young girl named Hilda Trujillo from Mexico gave birth at the age of 6 years and 5 months.
- The youngest mother in the United States is believed to be Lina Marcela Medina, who gave birth at the age of 5 years and 7 months in 1939.
- The youngest mother in Africa is reported to be a Nigerian girl who gave birth at the age of 9 years and 7 months.
- The youngest mother in South America is believed to be a girl from Colombia who became a mother at the age of 9 years and 2 months.
- The youngest mother in Asia is said to be a girl from India who gave birth at the age of 5 years and 7 months.
- The youngest mother in Europe is believed to be a girl from Romania who became a mother at the age of 11 years and 9 months.
- The youngest mother in Oceania is reported to be a girl from New Zealand who gave birth at the age of 11 years and 6 months.
15 Of The Youngest Moms To Give Birth Around The World
Having children is for most people the most wonderful experience in the world, especially if it happens at the right time. So when is the right time to have kids? Of course, there is no correct answer to that question because every person has a different take on this, but most of the people would say that the right time is when you find the right person and you decide to create a family together. However, even though there is no right answer to that, there is one that is considered wrong – when children have children of their own.
In most parts of the world, teenage pregnancy rates have gone down significantly, because even though a lot of people think today’s teenagers are out of control, their lifestyle has changed a lot during the last century. For starters, a while back it was a pretty common thing for young people to get married around the age of 15 and to have children of their own. Today, people prefer to get their education and find a job before even thinking about starting a family.
But today, we are not talking about the 15-year-olds who got pregnant by accident even though it happens every day. We are focusing on much younger kids and on the disturbing stories of their (often unwanted) pregnancies:
- LINA VANESSA MEDINA – THE YOUNGEST MOM EVER
- MUM-ZI – A GRANDMOTHER AT THE AGE OF 17
- YOUNG COLUMBIAN GIRL WANDERING THE STREETS
- HAPPY YOUNG PARENTS
- THE TRAGIC STORY OF LEYLA MAFI
- WANWISA JANMUK – HAPPILY MARRIED AT THE AGE OF 8
- THE UNUSUAL CASE OF ANNA MUMMENTHALER
- THE 6-YEAR-OLD H.
- HILDA TRUJILLO – IMPREGNATED BY HER COUSIN
- ZULMA GUADALUPE MORALES – PREGNANT AND ASHAMED
- A 10-YEAR-OLD WITH UNKNOWN PAINS
- THE SINS OF THE FATHER
- THE YOUNGEST MOTHER IN THE U.S.
- TILL DEATH DO US PART
- LIZA GRYSHCHENKO – A SAD UKRAINIAN STORY
World's Youngest Grandmothers
Rifca Stanescu gave birth to daughter Maria when she was just 12 years old. - She Became World's Youngest Grandmother At The Age Of 23
A Romanian woman who gave birth at the age of 12 holds the title of the world's youngest grandmother, having welcomed her first grandchild into the world at the age of just 23. Rifca Stanescu gave birth to daughter Maria when she was just 12 years old, but despite warning her child not to follow the same path, she had a child of her own when she was only 11.
The young grandmother, from the village of Investi, Romania, told how she pleaded with her daughter to stay in school, but she fell pregnant with son Ion at an even younger age. Rifca, who is now in her early 30s, told the Sun in 2011: "I am happy to be a grandmother but I wished something else for Maria - and something else for me. "Ion is a good boy - and he is already engaged to a girl aged eight. Boys are always good to have - they don't have to suffer as much girls, I think."
Born in 1985, Rifca rebelled and went against her family's wishes for her by running away with jewellery seller Ionel Stanescu when they were 11 and 13 respectively. The two got married and soon after that Rifca fell pregnant. She said: "I wanted to marry him, so I agreed, and of course after we had spent the night together then there was no way anyone could separate us. I had been promised to another boy's family since I was two years old but I didn't want that." In Rifca's culture, women are married early to guarantee their virginity, thus ensuring a good dowry from the families of prospective husbands.
