The Youngest Person to Give Birth Was Only 5 Years Old

Today I found out that the youngest person to ever become pregnant and give birth was only 5 years old!

Lina Medina was born on September 27th, 1933 in Ticrapo, Peru. At age 5, her mother, Victoria, brought her to a hospital because her stomach was increasing in size. Her parents originally thought Lina was possessed by evil spirits, but upon examining her, Dr. Geraldo Lozada found she was approximately 8 months pregnant. A month and a half after her diagnosis, on May 14, 1939, Lina gave birth via caesarian section to a baby boy.

Lina was able to become pregnant at such a young age due to a rare condition known as precocious puberty, basically, an early onset of sexual development. Most girls begin showing signs of puberty around 10 years old. The majority of boys tend to go through puberty starting around the age of 11-12. People with precocious puberty tend to begin puberty around the age 7. Shockingly, according to her mother, Lina, on the other hand, began having menstrual cycles at age 2 ½ and her breasts were developed by age 4. When the doctors examined her at age 5, she was found to already have fully mature sexual organs.

Lina Medina’s son, Gerardo, was named after Lina’s doctor and grew up believing that his mother was his sister. It wasn’t until the age of 10 that he found out who his mother really was. He died in 1979 at 40 years old of a bone marrow disease. Lina never revealed the father of the child, nor the circumstances of her impregnation. According to a 1955 article reviewing the case, done by Luis Leon of the Associated Press, “Some pointed out there were frequent festivities celebrated by Indians in Andean villages, like the one where Lina was born. These often ended up in orgies in which rape was not uncommon.”

While this is hardly something one would want to hold the record for, for a so many reasons, it would seem that Lina is unlikely to lose this record any time soon (or one would at least hope so!)  So, for now, the current record for youngest human being to give birth to another is 5 years, 7 months, and 17 days, which means she was probably impregnated a month or two before her fifth birthday.  Disturbing…

Bonus Facts

  • At age 70, Rajo Devi Lohan became the oldest person to ever give birth to a child.  Eighteen months later she announced that she was dying from complications from the pregnancy.
  • There are several theories as to what factors might cause precocious puberty, such as: increased caloric intake; foods rich in artificial hormones; and various environmental factors like pesticides, such as DDT. Most recently, researchers have pinpointed a gene (a protein called GPR54) that regulates puberty.  Mutations in this gene have been shown to cause deviations in sexual development.
  • Precocious puberty in boys, defined as development before age 9, is quite rare (1 in 10,000 in the United States), but when it does occur is often associated with central nervous system problems that need treatment.
  • A study done in Denmark from 1993-2001 showed that the incidence of precocious puberty in girls less than 2 years of age was 0.5 per 10,000. From this first epidemiological study based on national registries, it was estimated that 0.2% of all Danish girls and <0.05% of Danish boys had some form of precocious pubertal development.
  • According to the American Medical Association, sexual violence and rape in particular, is considered the most under-reported violent crime.
  • A 2007 government report from England says “Estimates from research suggest that between 75 and 95 per cent of rape crimes are never reported to the police.” The most common reasons given by victims for not reporting rapes are the belief that it is a personal or private matter and that they fear retaliation from the assailant.
  • It is estimated that a woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read. The South African Police Service readily admits that even though there is now a greater awareness of the problem, more stringent penalties, and better policing, the vast majority of rapes and attempted rapes still go unreported and unpunished.
  • Wednesday has more births on average than any other day of the week, 15.4% more then any other day. Sunday is the slowest day.
  • C-Sections account for 31.1% of all births in the United States, rising 50% over the last decade.  Induced labor accounts for 22.5% of births in the U.S.
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79 comments

  • Are those facts, or “factoid”? The suffix “-oid” means “having the form of”; so a “factoid” would be a statement with the form of a fact — but with the implication that it’s not truly a fact.

    If you mean fact, say “fact”.

    I guess we’ll never know who the father was. Modern genetic tests could rule out family members, if samples were available.

  • She doesn’t look 5 to me or 6 perhaps her parents got it wrong

    • The baby isn’t a newborn, so yeah she would be a little older.

      • Also the whole precocious puberty thing…so she would look older.

        Side note – Rajo Devi Lohan is still alive.

    • You have to remember she went through puberty when she was two. And also some children look like they’re older than their true age.

  • All I can think about is ‘tat poor little girl’! To be raped so young and then have the child…that must have been so traumatic!

  • This is unbelievable, i cant imagine a child under 5 getting pregnant…….sick to core, poor little lass to go through all this….traumatic indeed.

  • Reports from the incident indicate she was not traumatized by the event. At least the birth.
    Some speculate that her own father was the father of her son.
    Like most of my trivia I got this from a bathroom reader.

  • Is that the doctor from TF2 in the picture?

  • There is nothing strange about that after all she is a girl maturity can start from anywhere hers started too early it is nature don’t be surprised

  • Am very surprise 2 hear that a girl of 5yrs could be pregnant n still have the baby born,I don’t know awful things have been happening back in the days I taught is only recent days that strange things happened.

  • Shocked for life.

  • 1st of all Frank it is very strange no one should have had sex with a 5yr old girl in the 1st place so yea everything about this is strange and horrible I have nothing more 2 say just absolutely horrible

  • This is just wrong a little girl getting raped is horrible I feel sry for her

  • i feel srry 4 de little girl who was raped

  • OMG! I am sorry for the child.
    It is also a fact in Britain and mainland Europe that heterosexual men get away with rape or attempted or any form of abuse because there is no evidence even though the victim does go to court. The victim becomes a victim again. Therefore a lot of girls/women do not want to go through all this. It is traumatic for everybody. No matter what age. Why reliving the trauma again?

  • that’s all shit!….cause you have to get your period then you can have a baby you stupid!…..
    And you don’t get your period when you are 5! just saying but that is all sh!t…….

    FAKE!

    • Daven Hiskey

      @jade martin: Said the person who clearly didn’t bother reading the article.

    • Many you sold have read the artical before you judge

    • Michelle Leighton

      I agree Clara, Daven Hiskey, and Tom. You shouldn’t comment on something If you don’t know all the facts…I have actually met a girl that had the same disease so it’s definitely a real thing.

    • JADE JADE WHERE R YOU, feeling a bit stupid i guess, shoulda read the full article

    • You are so misinformed. She actually got hers at 2 1/2. My friend’s sister was 5 when she got hers and I was 16 before mine came. Yes you can have a cycle at 5. I know a few who had them at 7 too. Sad but true. Educate yourself so it doesn’t happen to your child for ignorance sake.

  • Jade, wouldn’t it help reading the article and then doing a simple search for the facts if you did not believe it. I was able to search and find that it was a fact. I never will share anything like this unless I fact check it.

    Now getting to this poor child, that really is a shame. She may have the reproductive organs of someone in their twenties but she had the mind of a 6 year old.

    Bottom line is that Pedophiles should be put away for life. You cannot cure them and they will keep abusing children for the rest of their lives. If they do not put them away for life, they should be castrated so that they do not have a sexual urge.

    In my book, it doesn’t matter if it is a man or woman, they are sick people and do not need to be in the general population of society. If you want to release them to the general population then let it be in jail. This way the people in the general population of the jail will give them what they gave to that little girl.

    • Joan Mierz how do you know that you can not cure a pedophile? I understand that the crime is horrible, but it seems like people say that you can’t cure a pedophile just because they hate pedophiles, not because they have any science to back it up.

      • Yes and please let us not forget about lolitas. There are teens under 18 who will lie beg cheat and steal to meet for sex. If a 5 year old can look 8-10 then a 14 year old can also appear 18, yet the law has no forgiveness. No one separates in their mind the heinous abuse of a 5 year old and someone who gets tricked in to meeting a 16 year old. Its a big difference and the article should read: Youngest rape victim to ever give birth. She was only 28% of the age of consent; this is a rape story. At that age love is about strawberries and hopscotch or playing house; this is not a pregnancy story. Did I say its not a pregnancy story ? And yes recidivism IS higher with sex offenses. I would also venture to say society failed these people because they were generally raped as children and no one protected them or gave them the help they needed to cope. In other words we look at the here and now and form hatred and rage, but in fact it was the hatred and rage of another that destroyed these peoples lives; this speaks to better screening in the schools to prevent the damage in the first place. Children are the only unprotected class in society; in fact a woman I know was belted buckle side till she was bloody for telling her mother her father raped her, which he did quite obviously if you ever met her.

        • Lolitas? In the book she was manipulated and pursued, not “asking for it”. Who are these girls that will do anything for sex? I’ve never met one, though I have met girls who will use sex to get other things. Usually they have been abused and taught that their only worth lies in their “use” to a man. Sure, girls will sneak out to meet a boyfriend, this does not make them sex fiends. And if doesn’t really matter if a girl “looks” 18. If you talk to her, and can tell that she is a child (even if legal), you are taking advantage and should leave her alone. Best err on the side of caution.
          You are correct that sex offenders (like drunk drivers) rarely only do it once. The urges do not go away, although it may be possible for some people to repress them. This is not well documented.

          • Definitely true that many underage girls pretend they are older, look older, lie about their age in order to manipulate older males with serial favors. Men who are tri ked this way are by no stretch of the imagination the same as those who knowingly seek underage girls and force them to have sex. There should be dIfferent degrees of culpability.

      • They are never cured. They will attack again.

    • that sounds personal like revenge, shame…shame…
      srry but cruel and unusual acts doesn’t warrent cruel and unusual punishment

    • I SOOO AGREE WITH U THAT THEY SHUD BE CASTRATED! THESE SICK PERVERTS DONT DESERVE 2 LIVE IN SOCIETY & THEY DONT DESERVE 2 LIVE PERIOD! THEY DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY! THEY SHUD HAVE THEIR PENIS & THEIR BALLS CHOPPED OFF EXTREMELY VERY SLOWLY 2 MAKE THEM SUFFER & THEN EXECUTE THEM! FORGET GIVING THEM THE INJECTION 2 KILL THEM! PUT THEM IN THE FREAKEN ELECTRIC CHAIR!

  • i wonder who the father is??? someone should go up to him and smack some sense into him for raping a baby! i know she isn’t a baby literally, but mentally she is! when a child, regardless of fast puberty, is 5 years old, they should be outside, playing with chalk and rocks and climbing trees. not feeding a baby with her own breasts which developed too early. she should be running and laughing and dancing, doing whatever and learning! not singing a lullaby to put her baby to sleep.

  • it’s really surprising dat a little girl got pregnant at d age of 5 moreover it is ridiculous dat she was being raped,,,,she herself is a baby i think d father was shameless nd had lost all his molarity dis kind of peoples must be directly hang to death without any court sessions

  • Well who was the dad!!??

  • This story is beyond disturbing, but what is more disturbing are some of the comments made about how the “child” doesn’t look 5, well she doesn’t look 16 either, she was a little girl. Another comment stated since she began her menstrual cycle that this was just “nature” and why are we all surprised? Really? Because her body had a hormone imbalance causing her to menstruate that made her fair game to all the sicko’s who wanted to molest her? There is a name for them pedophiles. It’s disgusting that so many people are so callous about this abuse.

  • This is very disturbing. There’s always been perverted men in this world. I began menstruating at age four. Luckily the doctors were able to stop it. I then began menstruating again when I was ten. The doctor told my mother that if I had started again after stopping it when I was four, there would have been nothing they could do. I always looked much older. At age 11 no one believed I was younger than 18.

  • Feel sorry but is she dead now 90 years old
    I don’t know

  • its a shame for that family but nothing can change that she is the youngest mother in the world.

  • its happened long ago, so les relax.

  • I do not think it is true. I think that they just put a picture of a girl, her father and her sister and just made up something to go with it.

  • that was the sadest thing i have ever seen i feel sorry for both of them

  • If you check https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_youngest_birth_mothers you see there are quite a few young mothers out there many raped by family members. Sadly many Muslim countries believe girls should be married young. The Prophet Mohammad had a 6 yr old wife, you see Palestinian weddings with girls who look 6 married to men who are 20-30. http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/09/8-year-old-yemeni-child-bride-raped-to-death-on-wedding-night-by-40-year-old-bridegroom/ Here is the sad story of an 8 year old bride raped to death on her wedding night.

    Sadly this is far more common than you may realize.

  • How do you people know, If the little girl was raped.She could have been playing house with a puberty fast boy when this all occurred Children always imitate what their parents allows them to see.the world always thinks the worst of every childhood pregnancy

  • Do you have rocks in your head? Common sense tells you that a 5 year old is too young to have developed ovaries, menstruate never mind give birth. This is an urban legend. This story is a crock of shit. Get with the real world,

  • this is believable. a male could have masturbated over her, and spread his semen over her naked body, could have been any male (age 10-100). a young male can ejaculate an orgasm and with an undeveloped erect penis could easily penetrate with little damage to her. physical rape with penetration may not have been needed, only the presence of semen with viable sperm to enter her presumably hymen covered vagina, swim up her very very short vagina, past her young fornix, into the very short uterus/Fallopian tubes and meet a viable egg. healthy sperm can ‘swim’ 1-2 inches an hour, so their trip would be far shorter than in a ‘mature’ female. And, you don’t need a ‘period’ to occur, as that is the second mistake made here. the menstruation merely sloughs off the already prepared uterus from a prior cycle. this could have been a pregnancy on the very first egg released by her ovaries. (the uterus was already prepared for implantation) quite a one in a million chance, but it perhaps did happen.

  • This lil girl got raped! Disgusting country who allowed this to happen.

  • Actuaally, the comments about the menstrual cycles being “nature” and “don’t be suprised” were not talking about getting raped or getting pregnant, they were talking about how it is nature where random stuff just happens sometimes, so the precocious puberty was bound to occur at some point so you shouldn’t be so suprised that she was ABLE to become pregnant like everybody in the comments were doing. Also, to everyone else saying she was raped as in against her will, technically, it was definitively rape, but more because she is not even old enough to be able to give consent. Now, of course I do realize that there is a high chance that she was raped against her will, but I am just saying there is a chance it could have been in one of the festivals the article was talking about where she was accidentally fertilized by a couple nearby, or with a friend who was unaware of what was happening. So please, everyone, stop AUTOMATICALLY ASSUMING SHE WAS RAPED AGAINST HER WILL!

  • She was raped against her will

  • My comment is not about the girl, but about the atrocious grammar and spelling of most of the respondents! Can they all be as illiterate as they sound?

  • thats so sad yet my cousin also has precious puberty

  • What a sin poor child she must of been in shock I had my first child at 17 and I went in shock its not right just a child herself so much responsibility for a 5 year old child to face and she could of died through child birth she must of been frightened not knowing what was ahead of her what a wee brave soul its animals that would do that to an innocent child

  • Was skeptical at first. Evidently it is true, according to Time Magazine:

    …..Medicine: Little Mother
    Monday, May 29, 1939
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    Into the hospital at Pisco, Peru last month came a tired, ragged Indian woman from the foothills of the Andes. She led by the hand a shy little girl, scarcely three feet tall, with chestnut braids and an enormously bulging abdomen. Pointing to the frightened child, the Indian woman begged Surgeon Geraldo Lozada to exorcise the evil spirits which had taken possession of her. Certain that little Lina Medina had an abdominal tumor, Dr. Lozada examined her, received the surprise of his life when he discovered she was eight months pregnant.

    Ten days ago in Lima’s maternity hospital, surrounded by an audience…
    ————————————————————————————————————————————————

    I note the words “frightened child”….that explains it all. Freak things happen in the world, but that goes to the top of the list.

  • It was her father i believe. And i believe that shes 96 years old. I can’t imagine a guy raping a <5 year old girl.