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The World’s Youngest Mother: Lina Medina’s Tragic Story
In a shocking and tragic case, Lina Medina, a young girl from Peru, made history as the world’s youngest mother. At the tender age of five, she gave birth to a baby boy in 1939, a haunting mystery that remains unsolved to this day.
Concerns arose when Lina, residing in a remote Andes village, started experiencing an unusual growth around her stomach. Initially fearing an abdominal tumor, her parents sought help and took her to Dr. Gérado Lozada in April 1939. To their astonishment, it was discovered that Lina was already seven months pregnant.
Just weeks later, on May 14, at the age of five years, seven months, and 21 days, Lina underwent a miraculous Caesarean section, successfully delivering a healthy baby boy. The child was named Gerardo, in honor of the doctor who cared for Lina during this extraordinary case.
Medical examinations revealed that Lina suffered from precocious puberty, a rare condition where children experience puberty at an abnormally young age. She had begun menstruating years before giving birth, with her mother noting that she started her periods at the age of three. Lina’s early development of adult sexual organs as a toddler enabled her to conceive at such an incredibly young age.
The most disturbing question surrounding this case was the identity of the person who molested and impregnated the child. Initially, authorities suspected Lina’s father, Tilburelo, leading to his arrest on charges of sexual assault. However, he was later released due to insufficient evidence. The identity of the boy’s father and the perpetrator who assaulted Lina at the age of five remains unknown.
Years later, Lina married Raul Jurado and had a son in 1972, who was over 30 years younger than his half-brother born in 1939. Gerardo lived until the age of 40 but tragically succumbed to bone disease in 1979, just a few years after his younger brother joined the Medina family.
Various reports suggest that Gerardo was not informed that Lina was his mother until he reached the age of 10, having previously believed she was his sister. Additionally, it is widely reported that Lina received minimal support following the extraordinary medical anomaly that shocked the world.
Raul, Lina’s husband, expressed his disappointment, stating, “She got no help that I know about. She thinks governments never deliver.”
As Lina, now 68 years old, resides in a cramped house in a poverty-stricken and crime-ridden district of Peru, her current status remains unclear. Lina Medina continues to hold the record as the youngest person to have ever given birth.
