The Child Mother Who Baffled the World
In 1939, as Europe stood on the brink of war, a medical case from the remote Andes mountains captured global attention and sparked both disbelief and fascination. Five-year-old Lina Medina from Peru became the world's youngest confirmed mother, a record that stands to this day.
The extraordinary story began in the small village of Ticrapo, where neighbours initially believed the young girl might be carrying the son of 'the sun God', drawing comparisons to the Virgin Mary. Her family, living in extreme poverty, first sought help from traditional healers and shamans, convinced she harboured a demon.
A Medical Mystery Unfolds
When local remedies failed, Lina's father Tiburelo Medina took her to hospital in Pisco, where doctors initially suspected a tumour. To their astonishment, they discovered the five-year-old was actually seven months pregnant.
On 14 May 1939, at just five years, seven months and 21 days old, Lina gave birth via caesarean section to a healthy boy weighing nearly 6lb (2.7kg). The child was named Gerardo in honour of the attending physician, Dr Lozada.
Medical examinations revealed Lina suffered from extreme precocious puberty. Documentation shows she experienced her first menstrual bleeding at just eight months old and had developed fully functioning sexual organs by age five.
The case was thoroughly documented with X-rays showing the foetal skeleton, clinical notes and photographs, countering any suggestions of a hoax. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists later recognised it as genuine.
The Unanswered Questions and Lasting Impact
Police immediately opened a sexual assault investigation, as all evidence indicated Lina was a victim of rape. Her father was arrested but released when no evidence emerged against him.
Attention then turned to other potential suspects including an uncle, one of her brothers who had mental health problems, and a family gardener who disappeared after the pregnancy became known. Some reports suggested she might have been attacked during village festivities.
The case was eventually dropped and the perpetrator was never identified. Lina herself never disclosed who fathered the child or the circumstances of her impregnation.
Gerardo grew up believing Lina was his sister and only learned the truth when he was ten years old. He died in 1979 at age 40 from a bone marrow disease, having largely stayed out of the public eye.
Lina's extraordinary situation drew commercial interest, with a US baby-products company offering products and income in exchange for controlled publicity. Peruvian authorities voided the agreement and placed mother and son under state guardianship.
Former President Oscar Benavides promised a lifelong grant, but the money never materialised. The pair eventually returned to their village in poverty.
Lina later relocated to Lima and worked as a secretary at the same clinic where she had delivered her son. She married and in 1972, at age 38, gave birth to a second son with her husband.
The couple spent time in Mexico before returning to Peru, where they settled in a poor, high-crime district of Lima. Now believed to be 92 years old, Lina has consistently rejected all interview requests and maintains her silence about the events that made her internationally famous.
Her story remains one of medicine's most perplexing cases - a mystery the world will never fully understand, and one that Lina herself has chosen to leave untold.
