The Five-Year-Old Girl Who Became The World’s Youngest Mother

We often hear stories of teenagers and youngsters having children at a worryingly young age. However, none of these stories have ever come anywhere close to the story of a five-year-old Peruvian girl who, despite the seeming impossibility of such a circumstance, gave birth to her own baby.

On 23 September 1933, Lina Medina was born in Tirapo, Peru. Harrowingly, a mere five years, seven months and 21 days after her birth, she gave birth to a baby boy.

At the tender of age of five, Lina seemed to be suffering from some kind of rare illness. Or at least that’s what her family thought. Lina’s mother, Victoria Losea, and father Tiburelo Medina noticed a sudden change in their daughter’s physical appearance, namely the ever-increasing size of her abdomen.

Initially, it was thought that the child was developing a tumor. However, after careful examination, the doctor then delivered the shocking news that Lina was actually seven months pregnant.

To verify for certain whether this was the case, Lina was surveyed by various medical experts. In fact, she was even flown to the United States and examined in university scientific facilities. Although many people at the time understandably believed the story to be a hoax, it was ultimately confirmed by numerous doctors who had derived sufficient evidence from biopsies and x-rays.

Just over a month after the shocking revelation, Lina gave birth on May 14, 1939. Consequently, she also became the youngest person on record to have given birth.

They discovered that Lina had fully mature sexual organs which had stemmed from early development. She was an example of a very rare and extreme case of what was referred to as “precocious puberty”.

This very harrowing case was documented by Dr. Edmundo Escomel in the medical journal La Presse Médicale. In the journal, he explained that Lina had her very first menstrual cycle when she was only three years old.

Escomel went on to explain that by the age of four, she had displayed prominent breast development and that by the time she turned five her pelvis had widened far beyond what was normal for a little girl.

Around the time she fell pregnant, Lina was as physically developed as a girl of around 10 to 12 years of age.

Lina’s son, who weighed six lbs at the time of his birth, was named Gerardo after her doctor. Until the age of 10, Gerardo was made to believe that his mother was actually his sister. Ultimately, he lived most of his life knowing that his mother was only five years younger than him.

Later in life, Lina worked as a secretary and tried to finance her son’s education. Then, 34 years after having her first child, Lina had a second son when she was 39 by which point she was married.

Gerardo grew up to have an all-around healthy life despite the unusual circumstances surroundin

g his birth. Tragically, however, he eventually developed bone marrow disease and consequently died in 1979 at the age of 40.

The mystery surrounding the identity of Gerardo’s father remains, as Lina seemingly never had any desire to make that public. She also never chose to divulge the circumstances under which the child was conceived.

Lina’s doctor recorded her responses to questions about her son’s father and consequently wrote that she “couldn’t give precise responses”.

In fact, because of the lack of information, Lina’s father was initially arrested on suspicion of child abuse but due to a lack of evidence, he was later released.

In 2002, Reuters hoped to arrange an interview with Lina when she was living in Peru’s capital, Lima, however, she refused to speak to any reporters.

It is believed that Lina is currently still alive at the age of 84. She reportedly still lives in Lima and continues to turn down the chance for an interview.

It has been nearly 80 years since the disturbing story of a baby born to a five-year-old child, it’s a record that luckily no one has come close to since – which, quite frankly, is a relief. Hopefully, Lina and her family were able to find happiness in their lives, despite the circumstances.