Unfortunately that headline isn’t a joke. A nine-year-old girl from the Chinese city of Songyuan gave birth to a healthy 6 lb baby boy on January 27 in a hospital in Changchun via Caesarian section. The identity of the girl has not been made public and police are currently trying to establish the identity of the father. In the province, it is illegal to have sex with a child under the age of 14.
The rate of pregnancies in school-aged children in China is increasing—one hospital in Shanghai reports that about 30 percent of their abortions were performed on schoolgirls. Last year, a clinic in the city of Chongqing came under fire for advertising half-price abortions for any girl with a student ID card.
Critics put the blame for the rise in pregnancies on China’s recently launched nationwide effort to “maintain the innocence of children” without teaching proper sex education. The government’s mandates include banning sexual content from the internet and suspending or expelling students if they are “suspected” of engaging in sexual activity.
Shockingly, this story isn’t an isolated one. In recent times, other nine-year-old girls in countries like Thailand, Singapore, Rwanda and Brazil have also given birth. The youngest known mother to ever exist was five-year-old Lina Medina of Peru who in 1939 gave birth to a 6 lb boy.
Lina Medina with her son and doctor.
Studies have concluded girls are reaching puberty at much younger ages now then they did in the past. According to this article:
“Menstruation usually starts at the age of 12 but it is not uncommon for it start earlier. In the western world children are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages – some girls at the age of seven. Many blame rising obesity rates because, generally, girls who achieve menstruation earlier in life tend to have greater body mass index and a higher ratio of fat compared to those who begin menstruation later. University of Bristol research has suggested one girl in six reaches puberty before the age of eight – 18 months earlier than their mothers.”
Welcome to the brave, new world…
Oh my god!!!
this is sickening
so sad for these children… giving birth to children
Oh god….what is the world coming to?
From what I read, Lina is still alive now. But she is living in poverty. I hope the government or somebody near could help her. What happened to her when she was 5 years was a thing of the past.
horrible as it is, latest reports (heard on nbc’s Today Show, KTLA and others, yesterday) show that phys and sexual abuse of American kids is actually falling.