Pregnant girl 5 years old. The youngest mother in the world: how was the fate of Lina Medina, who gave birth at the age of five. The girl until her death did not tell who the father of the child was. Little Lisa from Kharkov

Peruvian Lina Medina is the youngest mother in the world: at the age of 5, the girl became pregnant and a healthy baby was born. Here is her story.

In 1933, a girl appeared in a family of ordinary workers, named Lina. At the age of 5, the child's belly began to grow, the family turned to doctors for help.

Doctors believed that the baby had a tumor, but the examination gave a shocking result: Lina is pregnant, and is in her 7th month. One of Medina's doctors took the child to another clinic in order to make sure that the baby was expecting a child at that age. The doctor's name was Gerardo Losada.

After 40 days in 1939, Lina gave birth to a healthy boy. Naturally, a caesarean section was performed. The child was born 2700 grams, no health problems were found. The name was given in honor of the doctor - Gerardo.

During the procedure, the doctors were shocked that the child's genitals were, despite their age, like those of an adult woman. They were developed and ready for pregnancy, gestation, and childbirth.

The child's period went at the age of 8 months, but according to other sources - at 2 years old. At the age of 3, they went to Lina regularly and became the norm. Doctors decided that the child had premature maturation of the genital organs.

Boy's father

Immediately after the birth of the baby, the question arose of who dared to sleep with 5 summer child? Who is the baby's father?

Naturally, immediately after the birth, law enforcement agencies arrested the girl's father, but due to lack of evidence, he had to be released soon.

Lina herself did not say anything: she never talked about how it happened and who is the boy's father.

There is also information that the traditions of local residents are to blame for the pregnancy of the child. In the village where Lina lived, there were holidays ending in mass orgies. Most likely, a child took part in one of these orgies.

Adulthood

Dr. Gerardo felt responsible for Lina. He gave her the opportunity to get an education, and after a while the girl was already working as a secretary in his hospital. He also helped Gerardo Jr. with schooling.

But the doctor died of cancer at the age of 40. A couple of years before her death, Lina got married to Raul Jurado. A couple of years later, they had a child.

Little is known about the future of the youngest mother: she worked and lived with her husband in a poor Peruvian area.

Rumors also surfaced that this event was a fiction, but there is material evidence of what happened in the form of documents and photographs of Lina. Plus, if it really was a fiction, then the family would not be silent about it. The girl herself never spoke to reporters and never revealed the name of the father of her first child.

The laws of biology tell us that gestation, the birth of a child, and, by the way, conception are possible only after puberty (i.e., the first menarche) and before menopause.

But the genetic characteristics of individuals make it possible to give birth to a child at an earlier or later date.

The world knows cases when children and old women became mothers. In this article, we will tell you about the youngest mothers in history. You might also be interested in the article about the oldest mothers in the world.

The youngest mothers in the world

Extremely early puberty in five-year-old children is a rather unusual case, but it still occurs in medical practice. In most cases, infant pregnancies are terminated at an early stage in order to avoid social stigma and negative consequences for the development of the child-parent.

Lisa from Kharkov

Born at 6 years old

In 1934, information appeared about another young mother. 6-year-old Lisa from Kharkov got pregnant from her own grandfather. She carried a healthy baby girl, whose height at birth was 50 centimeters and weighed 3 kilograms.

The low financial situation of the family did not allow hiring a qualified surgeon who would “procesarize” the baby. A six-year-old Ukrainian woman had to give birth naturally with little or no anesthesia. Unfortunately, this story did not end as well as Lina Medina's. The baby died during childbirth - Liza's umbilical cord fell off prematurely.

Hilda Trujillo from Peru

Born at 9 years old

Another case, and again the scene is Peru. At the end of 1957, 9-year-old Ilda Trujillo gave birth to a girl weighing 2.7 kilograms in a hospital in Lima. Ilda's mother noticed her daughter's swollen belly back in the summer. The doctor's diagnosis simply shocked her - the doctor stated that the baby was pregnant. It turned out that the girl's cousin, a 22-year-old young man who lived with the girl in the same room, became the father. He was arrested the same day, as soon as his parents found out about Ilda's pregnancy.

The youngest mothers of the XXI century

"Underage" motherhood is also found in the 21st century.

A young mother from the Apurina tribe

Born at 9 years old

In July 2006, a 9-year-old Indian girl from the Apurina tribe became a mother. It happened in the capital of the Brazilian Amazon - Manaus. The pregnant girl was sent to the hospital in April, and then only after a group of researchers saw her disproportionately huge belly in her native village.

In the hospital, the expectant mother was found to have a whole bunch of dangerous diseases: pneumonia, malaria and anemia. She did not hear the doctors and did not react in any way to what was happening around - the baby had giant sulfur plugs in her ears, which had to be removed in the hospital. However, her daughter was born healthy, although not very large: 42 centimeters and 2.2 kilograms.

Pregnant girl from China

In 2008, Kang Mengru, a one-year-old orphan girl from an orphanage in China, was found to have an embryo in her stomach. However, the doctors were not surprised by this fact: it turned out that during gestation, the girl “absorbed” her twin. At the same time, the trapped fetus did not die, as it retained contact with its sister and continued to receive nutrients. Such cases (there is even a special term for them - "embryo in the fetus") are quite rare: about 1 in 500 thousand "twin" pregnancies.

The youngest mother in the world - Lina Medina from Peru

Gave birth at 5 years, 7 months and 21 days

The most early pregnancy, recorded by doctors, was found in a native of Peru, Lina Medina. The girl was born on September 27, 1933, and at almost 6 years old she became the youngest mother in the world. This "record" is still not beaten.

Five-year-old Lina was brought to the hospital by her parents, who were concerned about their daughter's enlarged abdominal cavity. At first they believed that the girl had a tumor. After examining the doctors, they discovered that Lina Medina was seven months pregnant. The girl's mother confirmed that Lina's first menstruation began at the age of three. Dr. Gerardo Lozada drove future mother to metropolitan Lima to have the pregnancy confirmed by other specialists.

A month and a half later, on May 14, 1939, Lina gave birth to a boy by caesarean section. The operation was inevitable because of the girl's still undeveloped pelvis - in a natural way, the baby would simply not be born, most likely, the young mother would also die. The surgery was supervised by Dr. Lozada and Bussleu, and the anesthesia was provided by Dr. Colretta.

The newborn, who at the time of birth weighed 2.7 kilograms, was named after Dr. Gerardo. As they grew older, the boy was told that Lina was his sister. The fact that she is actually his mother, Gerardo found out at the age of 9.

How exactly Lina Medina became pregnant has not been documented. Of course, the authorities could not ignore such an egregious case, and at first they accused the father of molesting his own daughter. However, the charges were subsequently dropped - the examination showed that the girl was a virgin.

The most plausible version seems to be that the pregnancy occurred due to low level hygiene in a poor Peruvian family. Lina herself was silent all her life about the circumstances of fertilization.

It is known that Medina later married young man named Raul Gerado, from whom in 1972 she gave birth to a second son. The family lived in a poor area of ​​Lima known as Chicago Chico ("Little Chicago"). Lina Medina died in November 2015, outliving her eldest son by almost 40 years - he died in 1979 from bone marrow cancer.

And about who became the youngest parents in Russia, you can find out in this article.
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Lina Medina (Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado), born September 23, 1933 - Peruvian, who became the youngest documented mother.

Lina gave birth at the age of 5 (five) years, 7 (seven) months and 21 days.

She lived the rest of her life in Lima, the capital of Peru.

The birth of Lina Medina - the youngest mother

Lina Medina was born in the village of Antacancha, 450 km east of Lima (Castrovirreina province). At some point, her father Tiburcio Medina (Tiburcio Medina) noticed that the child (one of nine children in the family) had an enlarged belly.

Superstitious fellow villagers, led by shamans, decided that a snake wound up inside the girl - the work of the evil spirit Apu, the spirit of the Andes. However, despite the countless Inca rituals to which Lina was subjected, the “snake” did not disappear, so the father, in desperation, decided to take his daughter for two days to Pisco, the nearest large city, to meet with the “real” doctor.

In April 1939, a man named Tiburcio Medina appeared at a hospital in the Peruvian city of Pisco. Together with him was his 5-year-old daughter Lina, with whom they came from the highland village of Antacancha, province of Castrovirreina.

Lina Medina for a period of 7.5 months. April 1939

An excited father turned to doctors with a request to remove an actively progressing tumor in his daughter's abdomen.

There they met with the gynecologist Gerardo Lozada, who initially thought the tumor was the result of a fibroma. But the surprise was so incredible that the doctor repeatedly repeated the tests: it was not a tumor, but a fetus for a period of seven and a half months.

In addition to the documentary evidence of doctors about the only such kind of pregnancy and the degree physiological development Lina Medina, photographs serve as proof.

For example, on one of them, made in her seventh month of pregnancy, the dimensions of the consequences of the “immaculate conception” are clearly visible.

Finding the biological father

Upon learning of the girl's pregnancy, the doctor called the police. At first, the father was taken into custody, but he was released a few days later due to lack of evidence. Then they arrested one of Lina's brothers, who suffered from mental disorders, but they also could not prove his guilt.

The Medina family lived in a village of Peruvian Indians, where ritual shamanistic festivities were still common, often ending in orgies, and it could well be that the girl was involved in one of them.

Relatives said that the girl could have been raped when she went to the river to wash clothes (this was part of her family duties).

It must be clarified that until 1944, science did not know that heredity could be determined from DNA.

Getting famous

Dr. Gerardo Lozada took Medina to Lima for other specialists to confirm that she was pregnant. As can be seen from newspaper reports of the time, the fact that a 5-year-old girl was pregnant caused a lively reaction on the continent and in the world.

The San Antonio Light newspaper reported in its issue of July 16, 1939, that the girl was expected to visit scientific universities in the United States, but the national Peruvian obstetric association demanded that the girl be taken to the national maternity hospital. An April 18 article in the Peruvian newspaper La Crónica stated that an American production company sent a representative to Peru "with the authority to offer $5,000 in exchange for filming rights."

Lina Medina with her child

Assistance from the Peruvian government

But the Peruvian government ruled that Lina and her son were in "moral danger" and decided to create a special commission to protect her. After a few months, they dropped the case, and Lina did not receive a penny from this offer.

The same article, republished by the Chicago edition, notes that Dr. Lozada took pictures of Medina for a scientific report and released them around April 21, during a speech to representatives of the National Medical Academy of Peru. Unfortunately, after another visit to the remote village of Antakancha, Lina's hometown, part of the luggage containing the images fell into the river while crossing "a very primitive bridge ... but one image was enough to intrigue scientists."

Other media publications

Dr. Hippolito Larrabure, director of the maternity hospital who assisted Dr. Lozada during the caesarean operation, said that Lina did an excellent job with this operation. US medical circles were astounded by the birth, which they considered unprecedented. Dr. Larrabour said the fact was "really startling" and added that he hoped "some scientific centers in the United States would send representatives to Lima to observe this case and point out the best way care for mother and child.

Los Angeles Times also reported her own confirmation of the story on the same day:

The possibility of a girl becoming a mother at the age of 5 was supported by Dr. Joseph B. De Lee, a respected obstetrician at the Chicago Hospital. De Li cited the case of a Russian girl who became a mother at the age of 6. According to De Li, who reported the case in a German medical journal, the mother (Lina Medina) had physical development like a girl 10 or 12 years old.

Publication in the New York Times

Six months later, the New York Times reported that a US public health official also confirmed Lina's wonderful story:

The Assistant Surgeon General of the US Public Health Service examined Lina Medina, whose child was born last May when the mother was about 5 years old. He said that while there was some confusion as to whether the mother was 5 or 6, there was no doubt about the authenticity of what he described as the most surprising fact of his medical career.

In 1941, two years after Lina was born, New York Times published a report about an American psychologist who examined Lina during a visit to South America:

The survey was conducted by Mrs. Paul Kosak, a child education specialist at Columbia University College. Ms. Kosak is the only child psychologist authorized to conduct research on Lina Medina, a Peruvian girl who gave birth two years ago at age 5. Kosak said that she did a series of tests on the child's intelligence, and based on this study, she has no doubt that the age of the child was identified correctly: “Lina is above the norm in intelligence, and her child, a boy, is completely normal and physically better developed than the average child Peruvian".

Childbirth and examinations

A month and a half after the initial diagnosis, Medina gave birth to a boy. At this point, she was 5 years, 7 months and 21 days old and became the youngest known mother in history. The small size of the pelvis made natural childbirth impossible, so it was decided to do a caesarean section.

The operation was performed by Gerardo Lozada, assisted by Dr. Bussalle (surgeon) and Dr. Colretta (anaesthesiologist). The born boy was named Gerardo after Dr. Lozada.

Gerardo was born a healthy and strong child - 48 centimeters and 2.7 kg. And although he and his mother were healthy, they stayed in the hospital for 11 months.

Lina Medina, Dr. Gerardo Losada and Gerardo's 11-month-old son

When doctors performed a caesarean section, they discovered that Lina at that time had fully mature genitals - a consequence of precocious puberty. Doctors clarified that her menarche (first period) occurred at the age of eight months, in contrast to the previous report, which stated that she had had regular periods since the age of three. For comparison - average age the first menstruation in developed countries is 12 and a half years.

The report also clarifies that Lina already had well-developed breasts at the age of four. By the age of five, her figure showed an enlarged pelvis and improved bone maturation.

Article by Edmundo Escomela in La Presse Medicale

Lina's incredible story was documented by Edmundo Escomel, a leading Peruvian medical researcher. On May 31, 1939, he published an article in La Presse Medicale, along with a photograph of a pregnant Lina Medina at 7 months and a half (the article can be seen). His last work on this subject is dated December 19, 1939 (see ).

He commented on the biopsy of one of Lina's ovaries, performed on a sample taken during a caesarean section, and provided photomicrographs of stained tissue areas. In the end, the pathologists agreed that Lina had the ovaries of a fully mature woman.

However, Escomel believed that the cause of the premature development of Medina could not lie only in the ovaries themselves, but must have arisen from an extraordinary hormonal disorder of the pituitary gland.

Article on Lina Medina's Ovarian Research by Dr. Edmundo Escomel

Later life of Linda and her son Gerardo

The son of Medina Gerardo was brought up like her brother, he learned about the real state of things only at the age of 10. He died at the age of 40 due to rare disease bone marrow, without ever establishing the identity of his father.

Due to the fact that the circumstances of his conception remain undisclosed, even today in the village of Antacancha they believe that Gerardo was the son of the sun god.

There are only two reliable photographs documenting Lina's pregnancy. The first was taken in early April 1939, when Medina was seven and a half months pregnant. This is the only published photo of Lina during her pregnancy. Another photo was taken a year later in Lima when Gerardo was eleven months old. Other photographs cannot be considered authentic.

As of 1955, doctors could not explain the fact of the pregnancy of a five-year-old girl, except for the consequences of early puberty. extreme premature pregnancy in children aged five years or below has only been reported with Medina.

Father's name remains a mystery

Lina never revealed the name of the child's father and the circumstances of her pregnancy. Researcher Edmundo Escomel suggested that she may not be aware of these facts, writing that Medina "cannot give precise answers to questions."

What is known now

In adulthood, Medina worked as a secretary at the Lima clinic in Lozada, which provided her with an education and helped send her son to high school.

At the age of 33, Lina Medina married Ricardo Jurado, from whom, at the age of 38 (in 1972), she gave birth to another son, who later emigrated to Mexico and settled in Tijuana.

With Ricardo, Lina built a house that was demolished in the 1980s during highway construction. Since 2002, she lived in a poor area of ​​Lima, which is called "Little Chicago".

All attempts to interview Lina Medina end in failure. Although it is known that she was offered a lot of money for this. Thus, there is no authentic information about her late fate.

Lina Medina, who became a mother at 5 (!) years old, outlived her son by almost 50 years

Lina Medina died as a result of a heart attack at the age of 82 on November 8, 2015. And remaining the youngest woman in labor ever recorded in history.

Lina Medina is the youngest mother in the history of medicine, but in other countries there have been similar precedents with girls a little older than Lina.

• In 1934, a 6-year-old Kharkov woman carried a child who died during childbirth.

• In 1957, at the age of 9, Peruvian Ilda Trujillo gave birth to a girl weighing 2700.

• In 2004-2007 Girls from Singapore, Rwanda, Brazil, Peru and Honduras became 9-year-old mothers. In all cases, the girls were victims of rape, often by their relatives.

In Peru, at the age of 83, Lina Medina, who was the youngest mother in the history of mankind, died.

The whole world learned about Medina in 1939. It was then that she gave birth to a child at the age of five. This event still shocks doctors. The child that the girl gave birth to was completely healthy and was no different from ordinary people.

As it became known, the girl's first menstruation appeared as early as 8 months, and by the age of five she had already fully formed breasts. Medina outlived her first child by nearly 40 years.

Lina was brought to the hospital by her parents for an enlarged abdomen at the age of five. A tumor was initially diagnosed, but doctors soon discovered that the girl was seven months pregnant. Dr. Gerardo Lozada took her to the capital of Peru for additional examinations to confirm the pregnancy. A month and a half later, on May 14, 1939, Lina gave birth to a boy caesarean section necessary because of her undeveloped pelvis. The operation was performed by Dr. Losada and Dr. Busolleu, anesthesia was administered by Dr. Colareta.

A report published in La Presse Médicale stated that the girl's menarche occurred at 2 years and 8 months, by the age of four she had sufficiently developed mammary glands, and at 5 years there was already a characteristic expansion of the pelvic bones.

Lina's son weighed 2.7 kg at birth and was named after Gerardo, the doctor who delivered the baby. The boy was brought up, considering Lina his sister, until he was ten years old, until he found out the truth. He grew up healthy, but died at the age of forty in 1979 from a bone marrow disease.

It was not documented how Lina Medina became pregnant. She never named either the father of the child or the circumstances of conception. Her father was arrested on suspicion of rape, but released due to lack of evidence. One article pointed out that among the Peruvian Indians (especially in villages like the one where Lina grew up) mass festivities are still widespread, usually ending in orgies; it was assumed that the girl could somehow be involved in the "celebration" and after that became pregnant, but since Lina did not give any comments on this matter, this remains only an assumption. From an interview offered by Reuters in 2002, the youngest mother in history refused.

Lina married Raul Jurado, with whom she had a second son in 1972.

There are two published photographs documenting this unusual case in the history of medicine. One photograph of very poor quality was taken in early April 1939, when Medina was 7.5 months pregnant. The photograph is valuable as a confirmation of Lina's pregnancy and the degree of her physiological development. The second photo, clearer and better quality, was taken a year later in Lima, when Gerardo was eleven months old.