Off The Record

In 1939, This 5-year-old Girl Became The Youngest Mom In The World

Published on December 18, 2024

Over the years, I’ve read a number of tales about young mothers. However, tales like this one demonstrate how many mysteries remain surrounding the human body. Furthermore, the human body continues to astound us in spite of all the scientific advancements throughout the years.

It might be challenging to discuss teenage pregnancy. However, it is far less significant than childbirth. It usually involves a woman who is not compensated to be a parent and the sexual exploitation of children.

Thus, the existence of Lina Medina, the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, is difficult to imagine. She gave birth to a son at the age of just five years, seven months, and twenty-one days.

However, the man who sexually assaulted the young girl was never held accountable.

In 1933, Lina Medina was born in the impoverished, isolated Peruvian settlement of Ticrapo. Along with her parents and eight siblings, she shared a small living space.

When Lina was four years old, her father noticed something unusual: his daughter’s stomach started to expand like a balloon.

After a while, everyone was talking about Lina’s enormous belly, and some people thought she had a “demon” inside of her. Her father even reached out to shamans and healers to see if they could get rid of it.

When nothing helped, Lina’s family began to believe she had a tumor. At last, they strolled to Pisco and took the young girl to the city’s medical facility.

They met Gerardo Lozado there, a physician who initially thought Lina had a tumor, just like her parents did.

He quickly realized, however, that he was mistaken, and the startling reality came to light.

Pregnancy was seven months along for Lina.

The doctor was astounded by what he saw. He summoned eminent experts from Lima, the capital. However, they only validated Lozado’s findings.

Lina gave birth to a healthy kid via Caesarean section on May 14, 1939, at the age of five. He was 19 inches (48 cm) long and weighed 6 pounds (2.7 kg). According to the New York Post, he was named Gerardo in honor of the physician.

From the New York Times in the United States to the Daily Telegraph in England, Lina’s pregnancy made headlines all across the world. It appeared alongside headlines on World War II combat.

Numerous offers were made to Lina to accompany her son to the United States for medical examinations. However, Lina’s parents refused, and Oscar Benavides, the president of Peru at the time, guaranteed them a grant that would provide for them for the rest of their lives and passed legislation to shield them from being used for profit. But regrettably, Lina never saw a dime.

It was unthinkable that a young girl of that caliber could conceive and give birth.

Lina’s hometown viewed her as a “virgin Mary.” According to some people, her child was the sun god’s son.

However, that explanation was rejected by the authorities. They believed her father had sexually assaulted her. He was detained for a few days when the police brought him in for questioning. However, they discharged him because they had no proof against him. Later, one of her brothers, who had mental health issues, came under scrutiny.

Police found the family gardener through another line of inquiry. Once Lina’s pregnancy was confirmed, he disappeared.

However, 78 years later, the monster’s identity and the child’s paternity remain a mystery. Despite repeated demands from the media, Lina has never wanted to discuss it.

She had an extraordinarily unusual pituitary hormonal abnormality, which Peruvian physicians discovered several years after the miraculous birth.

Lina experienced her first period at the age of eight months, and by the time she was four years old, she had already entered puberty, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Lina’s body was that of a mature adult by the time she gave birth. Only a comparable case in Russia has surpassed the world record she established.

It goes without saying that Lina was unable to care for her child, and Gerardo was raised by his grandparents. The youngster mistakenly believed Lina, who was playing with the same toys, to be his sister for a long time. Then, at the age of ten, Gerardo discovered the truth about his mother.

The young mother’s life wasn’t easy. Thankfully, though, the doctor who delivered her child was her guardian angel. Later on, he hired Lina to work as a secretary in his clinic. An adult Lina and her son are shown in the photo below.

Lina had to wait a long time to become a mother once more. Lina married Ricardo Jurado at the age of thirty, and at the age of thirty-eight, she gave birth to her second child.

Gerardo, Lina’s son, passed away from a bone marrow illness at the age of forty.

After living in Mexico for a number of years, Lina and Ricardo returned to Peru and settled in “Little Chicago,” a hazardous and impoverished neighborhood of Lima.

In the 1980s, the government demolished the house the couple had constructed there to create room for a roadway.

Finally, it seemed as though Lina had found her fortunate break. José Sandoval, a gynecologist, became interested in Lina’s situation in 2002. He demands that she receive the grant that the government promised her when she was a young child. Finally, Lina received the money.

Lina’s husband told the media that his wife became introverted as a result of the years of being persecuted by journalists.

The press, which is fascinated with exposing even the tiniest aspect of her narrative, has never ceased harassing the now-91-year-old woman.

However, Lina has consistently remained silent and turned down every request for an interview. Perhaps this is the reason why the world is still in awe of the pregnancy’s mystery.

How hard it must have been for this girl to become a mother at that age and give birth is beyond me.

It must have been really challenging, particularly because the monster who did this to her has never been apprehended despite all these years!