Saturday, May 14 — A most unusual childbearing event in medical history occurred in Lima, Peru on this date 77 years ago, which in 1939 happened to be Mother’s Day. A boy was delivered by cesarean section, but that’s not the uncommon part. What was unique is that the mother, Lina Medina, was just over five and a half years old. For a time, this extraordinary story was believed to be a hoax, but it was quickly confirmed. How Lina Medina was impregnated has never been established, as she never spoke of it. She had other children in more traditional childbearing years, and reportedly is still living in Peru at age 82. While not as medically astonishing, in the U.S. today, there are nearly a quarter-million births every year by women between the ages of 15 and 19.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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