UK’s Youngest Mother
A girl, believed to be the youngest ever mother in the UK, has given birth at the age of 11 with her family completely unaware of her pregnancy. The Sun reports that the girl, who was only 10 when she became pregnant, delivered a healthy baby earlier this month. However, social services are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and are speaking to the girl’s family.
“It has come as a big shock. She’s now being surrounded by expert help. The main thing is that she and the baby are OK,” says a source quoted by The Sun. “There are questions around why people did not know. That is very worrying.”
The previous youngest mother in the UK was Tressa Middleton, who gave birth in 2006 at the age of 12. However, Tressa was forced to give her child up for adoption after revealing that the child’s father was her brother, who had raped her.
It’s important to note that while puberty typically begins around the age of 11 for girls, it can start as early as eight and as late as 14. Various factors, including weight, can influence the timing of puberty. When young children become pregnant, there is a higher risk of complications, such as premature labor, infections, and pre-eclampsia.
Although there was a reported case in 2017 of another 11-year-old girl in the UK giving birth, no further details about the case were revealed.
The youngest mother in the world, as documented, was Lina Medina from Peru. She gave birth in May 1939, when she was just five years and seven months old. Lina’s parents initially believed she had a tumor, but she was taken to the hospital only to find out that she was seven months pregnant with a baby boy named Gerardo.
