We’ve come across our fair share of eyebrow-raising tales over the years here at Newsner, but the majority of them pale in comparison to that of Lina Medina.
Haven’t heard her name? You’re not alone, don’t worry, but after reading this article, you’ll likely wonder how that was ever the case.
Born and raised in Peru, Lina holds the somewhat troubling distinction of being the youngest recorded mother in the history of the world, having birthed a healthy baby when she herself was just five years old.
No, we’re not making it up. No, your eyes did not deceive you just now. Yes, Lina was five years old when she fell pregnant and gave birth.
According to reports, the curious case of Lina Medina played out all the way back in 1939, and yet to this day many of its components remain a mystery.
When she was five, Lina, who resided in a remote village in the Andes, developed an unusual growth around her stomach. Her parents are said to have feared she had an abdominal tumor, though the truth was in many ways even more alarming.
Lina’s mother eventually took her daughter to a hospital to seek help. There, they met Dr Gerado Lozada, who quickly determined that – and this surely must have flew in the face of all he thought he knew – the little girl was with child.
Weeks after meeting Dr. Lozado, Lina gave birth to a healthy baby boy via Caesarean section on May 14, 1939. At the time, Lina was five years, seven months, and 21 days old.
They named the boy Gerado, after Lina’s doctor, and thereafter medical professionals attempted to get to the bottom of this jaw-dropping phenomenon.
Rare condition
It transpired that Lina had been born with a rare condition known as precocious puberty, which sees children go through puberty far earlier in their lives than is the norm.
Lina’s mother reportedly revealed that her daughter had started menstruating when she was only three years old, and her condition meant that Lina had developed adult sexual organs while she was a toddler.
Yet all that aside, the question had to be begged as to who had sexually abused and impregnated Lina. Authorities are said to have arrested her father, Tilburelo, who was charged with sexual assault. Due to a lack of evidence, however, he was later released, and the identity of the man who had fathered Gerado has remained a mystery ever since.
Though reports vary, it’s generally accepted that Gerado was made aware that Lina was his mother when he was 10, having previously believed that she was his older sister.
Lina would go on to marry a man named Raul Jurado, with the pair welcoming a son – more than 30 years younger than his half-brother Gerado – in 1972. Sadly, Gerado reportedly passed away from a bone disease in 1979, while Lina’s husband, Raul, once revealed that his wife had received no help after bringing a child into the world at such a young age.
“She got no help that I know about. She thinks governments never deliver,” Raul said.
Raul later gave an update on Lina when she was 68, telling Telegraph India that his wife lived in a “cramped house in a poor, crime-ridden district” in Peru.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a story quite like this one. Have you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box.
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