World’s Youngest Mother Had A Baby At 5 And Doesn’t Want To Talk About It
Lina Medina is alive and well and she just wants her house back
When Lina Medina was five, her belly started to grow. Her parents were afraid so they took her to the village Shaman for advice.
It was 1939 and they lived in a tiny village in Peru.
The Shaman thought it might be a tumor. It seemed to be growing fast so he told them to get Lina to a doctor as fast as they can.
The doctor ran some tests, and with a shocked look on his face, he told Lina’s parents she was seven months pregnant. Lina’s parents were stunned and angry.
Surely that couldn’t be right.
They asked for a second opinion.
So Dr. Geraldo Lozada, who ran the first test, referred Lina to a bigger clinic. A second set of tests at a bigger clinic confirmed the diagnosis. Lina was having a baby. At age 5. Just a baby herself.
Youngest mother in medical history delivered a heathy baby boy when she was five and a half…
Dr. Lozada delivered the baby by Caesarean immediately. Her little body was too small to carry any longer. Her pelvis was too tiny to deliver a child. He couldn’t even risk it.
It was a bouncing baby boy, weighing in at a whopping 6 pounds given how small the mother was. They named the little boy Geraldo, after the doctor who performed the Caesarean.
On the day of the birth, Lina was 5 years, 7 months and 21 days old.
Ever heard of precocious puberty?
That’s what it’s called when a little girl gets her first period before age 8. Lina got her first period at age three.
Doctors weren’t sure what caused it. They say sexual abuse can trigger early sexual development. But it can also be caused by malfunction of the pituitary, McCune-Albright syndrome, adrenal malfunction, head or spine injuries and a whole long list of other possible causes.
They say it’s pretty rare. One in every 5-10,000 children experience precocious puberty. Over 90% of cases are girls.
But that’s not as rare as it sounds. There are 7 billion people on the planet. Roughly half are female. If one female out of every 5–10K have it, that means 300K — 600K females who are alive right now had it — or will.
Shocking, right?
Lina’s parents told her Geraldo was her little brother…
For the first 10 years, Lina’s parents told her Geraldo was her little brother and she believed them.
Did she block the pregnancy and delivery from memory because of trauma? Did she not understand what happened? No one really knows.
She was one of 9 siblings, so she just had a little brother. That’s all she knew.
Lina loved her “little brother” but sometimes she preferred to play with her dollies. She had a sweet little carriage that held both her baby and a dolly so she could take them both for a walk at the same time.
She was a very proud and loving big sister, taking her “baby brother” for walks with her dollies.
Dr. Lozada stayed on as the family doctor. Over the years, he reported that Lina was healthy and of above average intelligence and her son was a normal, healthy and very bright little boy.
When Lina was 15 and Geraldo just 10, Lina’s parents sat them down together and explained that they were not brother and sister, but mother and son.
I cannot even imagine.
No, it wasn’t a hoax. It’s verified by the medical community…
Some people say it’s a hoax. It’s not. I understand wanting to think that. The idea of a five year old being pregnant is horrifying.
Except, they have biopsies and X-rays of the fetal skeleton in utero. They have photos taken by the doctors that cared for her. They have medical records that have been vetted and documented in medical communities and journals.
It’s real. Dr. Lozada was acknowledged world wide for his study of Lina’s case and his follow up care. He earned notoriety and monetary reward that he used to build a hospital for prevention of potential miscarriages.
Once the Internet came along, there was even a Snopes investigation. Their response? Verdict: true story.
Lina got married and had a second child 33 years after her first…
Dr. Gerardo Lozada deeply cared about this little girl that so shocked him when she turned up in his office pregnant at age 5. When she finished school, he gave her a job in his clinic and paid for her son’s education.
She got married and had a second son, born 33 years after her first.
Sadly, Gerardo died of a bone marrow disease when he was just 40. Lina was 45 when she buried her 40 year old son. She had a 7 year old at home.
Who raped her? That’s what everyone wants to know. It’s the question she’s been asked her whole life.
Back when she was in the hospital, she was interviewed with her mother present. Who did this, they wanted to know. She didn’t seem to understand. Or, at least, she wasn’t able to give any answers.
Her father was jailed as the obvious suspect. Eventually, they released him. He was shocked and hurt at the accusations. Swore he didn’t rape his baby.
Years later, a doctor theorized that she may have been raped at a religious celebration that occurred around the time she got pregnant. She may not even have been conscious when it happened. But no one really knows.
Who raped her? That’s what everyone wants to know.
Asking who raped her is the wrong question.
83 years later, there are 3 rapes every hour in Peru and the majority of victims are 10–17. Sounds awful, right?
Well, it’s not just Peru. In America, a rape occurs every 2 minutes and 15% of victims are 12-17. That’s up to 4 child rapes every hour, every day. Rape statistics don’t track rapes under 12. But they happen, too.
Do you have any idea how many babies have babies?
The list of child mothers is sickening and it’s not a “developing country” problem. It happens in America, too.
— A 9 year old girl in Cadaretta, Mississippi
— A 9 year old girl in Little Rock Arkansas
— A 10 year old girl in Butler County, Kentucky
— A 10 year old girl in Taunton, Massachusetts
There are over 100 names of reported child pregnancies in the 6–10 age groups from 1834 to 2019. The list has not been updated to add current cases, which include the 10 year old girl that had to travel from Ohio to Indiana to get an abortion when Roe vs. Wade fell.
Who raped a child is the wrong question.
Why are so many grown men sticking their penises into little girls?
Sorry for how crass that is. But seriously. Girls as young as 10 and 12. Several cases every hour, every day, just in America.
Why? That’s what we need to be asking.
Lina Medina is alive and well and she doesn’t want to talk about the pregnancy. She just wants her house back.
For all the years of her life, people from the media offered Lina money to tell her story. They are still offering money. Money she could desperately use.
She doesn’t want it. Because she doesn’t want to talk about it.
She is 88 years old and she just wants her house back. The government tore it down in a road widening project and didn’t pay her for it. She’s living in dire poverty and doesn’t have the money for another house.
But she won’t trade her history for it. It’s not for sale.