In 1939, Lena Medina of Peru gave birth to a baby at the age of 5, becoming the youngest child to give birth.
In the early spring of 1939, parents in a remote village in Peru noticed that their 5-year-old daughter's belly had grown larger. Worried that the swelling was a tumor, he took it to the doctor.
To the shock of the parents, doctors discovered that their daughter was seven months pregnant. On May 14, 1939, Medina gave birth to a healthy baby boy by caesarean section. At 5 years, 7 months and 21 days, she became the youngest mother in the world.
Lina Medina, the youngest mother in history, poses with her son.
Medina's case surprised pediatricians and attracted global attention. To this day, Medina never tells anyone who her father is, and she and her family still shy away from the media and avoid any chance of being interviewed.
Precocious puberty
The youngest mother may have suffered from a rare condition called precocious puberty.
Lena Medina was born on September 23, 1933 in one of Peru's poorest villages, one of nine children.
It is thought that Medina suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes a child's body to prematurely become an adult (girls before the age of 8 and boys before the age of 9).
Boys with the disease usually have a deeper voice, enlarged genitals, and larger facial hair. Girls with this disorder usually have their first menstrual period and develop breasts early.
Often, the cause of precocious puberty cannot be determined. However, recent studies have found that young girls who have been sexually abused may enter puberty more quickly than their peers. Therefore, it has been suspected that precocious puberty may be associated with premature sexual exposure.
Doctors reported that when Medina was only 8 months old, she had her first menstrual period.
Further examination of the 5-year-old Medina revealed that her breasts had developed, her hips were wider than normal, and her bones were developed prematurely.
But of course, although her body developed very early, it was clear that she was still a small child.
Who is the father of Lena Medina's child?
Medina never said who the father of the child was. Sadly, it was possible that even she didn't know it.
Medina's father, Tibrelo, a local silversmith, was briefly arrested on suspicion of raping his child. However, at that time there was no evidence or witnesses to prove his crime, he was released and the charges against him were dropped. Medina's father strenuously denied raping his daughter.
In the years after the child's birth, some news organizations speculated that Medina may have been attacked at an unspecified celebration near her village. However, this has never been confirmed.
Silence from the youngest mother in the world
After the baby was born, the Lena Medina family quickly faded from the public eye
As soon as the news of Lena Medina's pregnancy broke, it attracted the attention of the whole world.
Many media outlets offered to pay family members for interviews. But she and her family declined to speak publicly.
What happened to Medina?
Medina's later life remains a mystery, and no one knows, but if she were alive today, she would be in her 80s.
Medina's child, named Geraldo, named after the doctor who first examined Medina, was discharged from the hospital and returned to the village of Ticrapo, where his family was.
Two years after his birth, Paul Cosk, an expert in child education at Columbia University, was allowed to visit the Medina family. Kauske found that Medina was "mentally higher than normal" and that her children were "completely normal."
But as for the relationship between her mother and son, she seemed to be confused at a young age, and she always thought it was her brother.
Medina also prefers to play with her dolls while playing with her children. As for her son, he thought Medina was his sister from an early age, and it wasn't until he was 10 years old that he discovered the truth.
Medina's son was always healthy, but died of bone disease at the age of 40.
As for Lena Medina, as an adult, she found a job as a secretary to obstetricians and gynaecologists.
She married in 1970 and gave birth to a second son in her 30s.
Since then, her life has become a mystery, no one knows where she is, and if she is still alive, she is now almost 90 years old.