Lina Medina

Lina Medina: The Youngest Mother In Medical History

  
      

What was originally believed to be a tumor that had caused a significant increase in abdominal size, was actually something that had never happened before. On May 14, 1939, Lina Medina (born on September 23, 1933) became the youngest mother in medical history. At the young age of just 5, the Peruvian woman (currently age 84) gave birth to a healthy boy.

Who Is The Youngest Mother In History?

At five years, seven months and 21 days, Medina owns the record for the youngest mother ever. While her case was believed to be a hoax, there have been doctors over the years who have verified the case. The supported evidence comes from biopsies and X rays of the fetal skeleton in utero. There were also published photographs of Medina taken by doctors.

A Tumor That Was Actually A Baby Growing Inside

unborn human baby

When Medina’s parents brought her to the hospital to check what was believed to be a tumor, doctors (including other specialists) determined that she was actually in her seventh month of pregnancy. Her small pelvis made caesarean birth the only option. Medina gave birth by caesarean section to a boy named Gerardo (named after her doctor). Her son was 5.8 lbs, 18.7 in.

In the early years of Gerardo’s life, he believed that Lina was his sister. At the age of 10, he found out she was actually his mother.

An Interesting Find During The Caesarean Section

When surgeons were in the middle of a Caesarean section, they found something unexpected. Despite Medina being just 5-years-old, they found fully mature sexual organs that were caused by precocious puberty (when puberty occurs at an unusually early age).

In the United States, the average age for a girl to get her first period is 12. Worldwide, the average age is 8 to 15 years old. What’s even more unbelievable is that according to a detailed report by Dr. Edmundo Escomel in the medical journal La Presse Médicale, Medina’s first menstrual cycle occurred when she was just 8 months old. However, other sources report a different age. According to Snopes.com, Medina was having regular periods at the age of 3.

Included in the report was the mention of Medina’s prominent breast development by the age of four. Usually, a girl will have her first period about 2 years after their breasts first start to develop.

Who Was The Father Of Medina’s Child?

The biological father of Medina’s son has never been revealed. To this day, she refuses to share who the father was, or the circumstances of her impregnation. Although her father was arrested due to suspicion of child sexual abuse, due to lack of evidence, he was released.

An Image Of Medina Today

the youngest mother

(screenshot from Alchetron.com)

Over the years, Medina has turned down multiple requests from reporters for an interview.

A Child Who Previously Owned The “World’s Youngest Mother” Record

Although Lina Medina is currently the world’s youngest mother ever recorded, on June 7, 1932, there was a child from India who gave birth and became the youngest mother at the time. She was just one year older than Medina, as she had her first child at 6 years, 7 months.

Interestingly, this mother does not have a known name. She is only known as “H”. Similar to Medina’s case, the child’s parents believed she had a tumor because of her complaint of pain in her lower abdomen. The child never menstruated, and despite having breasts that were far from being fully developed, for a total of 9 months, she was able to breastfeed her child.

Who Is The Oldest Mother Ever?

world's oldest mother

(screenshot from DailyMail.co.uk)

The world’s oldest mother is Daljinder Kaur from India. After nearly 50 years of unsuccessful attempts with her husband, through in vitro fertilization (IVF)), she has finally had her first child at the age of 72. While the baby is healthy, Kaur’s health has deteriorated since she gave birth.

For a list of cases involving pregnancy over the age of 50, visit Wikipedia.org.

Who Is The Youngest Father Ever?

youngest father ever

(screenshot from Jezebel.com)

If you go to Google and type in “youngest father ever,” the answer at the top shows it was 12-year-old Sean Stewart from United Kingdom (became a father in 1998). The mother of his child was his 15-year-old next-door neighbor.

Although many sources say Stewart is the youngest father of all time, according to Wikipedia, the youngest father was actually 11-years-old.

Based on the list of youngest birth fathers, there are two verified cases involving 11-year-old boys. One case was an unidentified father form New Zealand who had a child with a 36-year-old woman in 2012. The other case was Alberto S. from Mexico in 2015. The mother of Alberto’s kid was just 16-years-old.

Who Is The Oldest Father In History?


The oldest man on record to father a child is former Indian wrestler Ramjit Raghav. At the age of 94, he fathered his first child with his wife. A couple of years later, he broke his own record and fathered his second child at the age of 96. Raghav claims to have sexual intercourse on an average of 3 to 4 times a night, which has understandably made many of his friends and neighbors quite jealous. The world’s oldest father is still alive at either age 101 or 102.


Out of all the many strange things that have happened throughout human history, the true story of Lina Medina may be one of the strangest and most unbelievable stories of all time.

To hear about a 5-year-old child who was not just capable of becoming pregnant, but who also had a healthy baby, is a story you would think came straight from a science fiction film. Fortunately, it is very unlikely that there will ever be another case of a 5-year-old mother.

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About Joseph Caltabiano

Joseph Caltabiano is a writer, oddities lover and a former surgical technologist. He left the field of surgical technology to pursue a career in blogging and internet marketing. As clearly shown in his posts, Joseph is very passionate about unusual topics. His two most favorite topics are medical and weird science.