The 5-year old Mother

A woman can never be too old or too young to conceive. For many people, the question on when a woman can have a child is not about her age but by her readiness for it.

But such is not the case for Lina Medina, who, much to my shock, became a mother at 5 years old.

Born in Peru in 1933, Lina was just like any other girl her age who loved to play with her friends, discover new things and enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood. However, Lina started having abnormal changes in her body, as in her breasts and hips. When she turned 5, her stomach began to grow larger.

Thinking that it was a tumor, her parents took her to the hospital. After a series of X-ray tests and biopsies, the doctors confirmed that she had been pregnant for seven months already. It was also found that she started puberty at 8 months. This condition would later be described as precocious puberty.

On May 14, 1939, Lina gave birth to a healthy baby boy through caesarian section. The baby was named Gerardo, after her doctor.

For ten years, the family kept it a secret from Gerardo that Lina was actually his mother, and not his older sister. Gerardo died in 1979 from a bone infection.

Who got her pregnant still remains a mystery today. In fact, Lina’s father was arrested for suspicion of rape and incest, but was later freed for lack of evidence.

At present, Lina lives in Lima with her husband. She also has another son who lives in Mexico.

I still find it hard to imagine something as this to actually happen, myself wondering what I would do if that ever happened to me.

I wonder if in our lifetime, I could get a chance to meet her and know straight from her how she had coped with such challenging ordeal, the fact that many pregnant women go through a lot of changes that may be difficult to cope with.

Lina really caught my interest that I started searching if there were any published books about her, but I couldn’t find one. It would be great to publish a book about her, although I’m not so sure as she lives a simple and quiet life now, shunning away from controversy as much as possible.

But this I have to say, Lina sure was one extraordinary child, and is one amazing mother.