Did you know that the world’s youngest mother gave birth at the age of five years, seven months and 17 days?
Entering precocious puberty at the age of 8 months (some reports say 2.5 years), Lina Medina gave birth to a 2.7 kg son, named Gerardo, by caesarean section on May 14, 1939 in Lima, Peru.
Her parents, who assumed their daughter had a tumor, took her to a hospital, where she was determined to be seven months pregnant.
Although Medina’s father was arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse, he was later released due to lack of evidence, and the identity of the biological father who impregnated Medina was never uncovered.
Gerardo was raised believing that Medina was his sister, but found out at the age of 10 that she was his mother. He grew up healthy but died in 1979 at the age of 40 of a bone marrow disease.
Although the case was called a hoax by some, 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.
Lina Medina currently lives in Lima.