The world's youngest mother - a medical mystery for nearly 80 years.
In 1939, five-year-old Lina Medina gave birth to a healthy baby boy, shocking the world.
Lina Medina was born in a remote village in Peru. According toAllthatsinterestingWhen Lina was 5 years old, her parents noticed her stomach was unusually large. Fearing it might be a tumor, they took her to the doctor. The doctors' diagnosis stunned everyone.
Dr. Gerardo Lozada, who directly examined and treated the girl, diagnosed Lina as being seven months pregnant. However, the doctor himself was uncertain about his findings and referred her to other specialists. Incredibly, they all came to the same conclusion: Lina was pregnant. The evidence included her medical records, a photograph of Lina during her pregnancy, and a fairly clear X-ray showing a developing fetus inside her.
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| Lina Medina became pregnant when she was only 5 years old. Photo:Allthatsinteresting |
Lina's father was arrested on suspicion of incest and child abuse. He was later released due to lack of evidence. One of Lina's siblings was also under surveillance, but there was no evidence to suggest he was the child's father.
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| The world's youngest mother in 80 years remains a medical mystery. |
Lina Medina gave birth to a baby boy weighing 2.7 kg, who was named Gerardo Medina. He was raised as Lina's younger brother and always thought of her as his older sister. It wasn't until he was 10 years old that Gerardo learned Lina was his mother.
Gerardo Medina grew up healthy and normal. At age 33, Lina married Raul Jurado. In 1979, Gerardo, then 40, died of bone marrow disease, while Lina continued to live with her husband in a poor district of Peru. She always refused to share information about her life, deciding to keep the identity of her son's father a secret until the end of her life.
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| Image:Allthatsinteresting |
Since then, Lina Medina has been considered the youngest mother in the history of world medicine. Several organizations and research institutions have tried to contact Lina and her son to learn more about their case, but her parents have refused. To date, only a few photographs believed to have been taken of Medina during her pregnancy have been published outside of medical literature.
In an article about the incident published in October 1955, author Luis Leon stated that many villages in Peru regularly held religious festivals. Those participating included groups involved in sexual activity and rape.
