Current Date: 19 Nov, 2025
{{entry.title}}

story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina

Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.

Parents in a remote Peruvian town noticed their 5-year-old daughter had a large belly in the early spring of 1939. Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Losea took their young daughter from the family’s home in Ticrapo to Lima to visit a doctor, fearful that the growth was a tumor.

The doctor informed the parents that their child, Lina Medina, was seven months pregnant. Medina gave birth to a single baby boy through C-section on May 14, 1939. She became the world’s youngest mother at the age of 5 years, 7 months, and 21 days.

Medina’s case surprised pediatricians and drew international attention, something she and her family did not expect. Medina has never revealed the identity of the father to authorities, and she and her family continue to avoid the media and any possibility for a tell-all interview.

Despite the fact that the case of the world’s youngest mother remains a mystery, additional information about how Lina Medina became pregnant — and who the father may have been — has emerged.

A Precocious Puberty Case – a condition in which a person reaches puberty too early.

The story of youngest mother in the world at age or 5 2
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Lina Medina was one of nine children born on September 23, 1933, in one of Peru’s poorest towns. Her pregnancy at such a young age must have come as a shock to her family and friends, as well as the general public. However, pediatric endocrinologists didn’t rule out the possibility of a 5-year-old girl becoming pregnant.

Medina is thought to have had a rare genetic disorder called precocious puberty, which causes a child’s body to mature too quickly (before age eight for girls and before age nine for boys).

A deeper voice, larger genitals, and facial hair are common symptoms in boys with this illness. Typically, girls with this illness will get their first period and grow breasts at a young age. It affects roughly one child out of every 10,000. This is how around ten times more girls than boys develop.

Precocious puberty is frequently caused by unknown factors. Recent research has indicated that young girls who have been sexually assaulted may reach puberty sooner than their classmates. Precocious puberty may thus be accelerated by early sexual intercourse, according to certain theories.

Lina Medina got her first period at the age of eight months, according to Dr. Edmundo Escomel’s report in a medical publication. Other newspapers, on the other hand, reported that she began menstruation when she was three years old. In any case, it was an unusually early start.

Medina, who was just five years old at the time, had developed breasts, hips that were broader than normal, and accelerated (that is, post-pubescent) bone growth.

Despite the fact that her body was still developing at an early age, she was still definitely a young girl.

Lina Medina’s baby had a father, but who was he?

The story of youngest mother in the world at age or 5 3
Photo Credit: YouTube/Ileana Fernandez

Lina Medina’s pregnancy is partially explained by her early puberty. However, it does not fully explain everything.

Someone had to get her pregnant, after all. And, unfortunately, given the 100,000-to-1 odds, that individual was probably not a tiny boy suffering from the same illness as she had.

Medina never revealed the identity of the father or the circumstances of the assault that resulted in her pregnancy to her doctors or the authorities. However, due to her youth, she may not have even recognized herself.

When asked about the father, Dr. Escomel replied she “couldn’t give accurate responses.”

Medina’s father, Tiburelo, a local silversmith, was briefly detained for the alleged rape of his child. When no evidence or witness testimony could be obtained to hold him responsible, he was released and the charges against him were withdrawn. Tiburelo, for one, has categorically denied ever raping his daughter.

Some news outlets theorized in the years after Medina’s birth that she may have been attacked at unspecified festivities near her town. This, however, was never verified.

The World’s Youngest Mother Remains Silent

The story of youngest mother in the world at age or 5 1
Photo Credit: YouTube/Anondo BD

Lina Medina’s pregnancy was well-publicized, and it drew interest from all around the world.

Newspapers in Peru offered the Medina family tens of thousands of dollars for the rights to interview and film Lina, but they declined. Meanwhile, publications in the United States covered the story extensively, including an attempt to contact the world’s youngest mother.

There were even offers to pay the family to come to America. Medina and her family, on the other hand, declined to speak publicly.

Given the extraordinary nature of Medina’s condition and her resistance to inquiry, it was likely inevitable that some spectators would suspect her family of fabricating the entire story.

This does not appear to be the case after more than 80 years have gone. Medina and her family have made no attempt to profit from the story and medical documents showing that she was in good health during her pregnancy.

Only two images of Medina, while she was pregnant, are known to exist. Only one of these, a low-resolution profile photograph, was ever published outside of medical journals.

Her medical records also include several reports from doctors who treated her, as well as X-rays of her abdomen that plainly reveal the bones of a developing fetus within her body. Her pregnancy was also verified by blood tests. And all of the papers that were published in the literature passed peer review with top marks.

Medina, on the other hand, has turned down every interview request. She would spend the rest of her life avoiding publicity, refusing to sit for interviews with both international wire services and local publications.

Similar Stories
The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program

The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program

In 1986, while doing a night shift at the hospital, Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse, was asked by an elderly patient to stay. She promised to be back after checking on her other patients, but by the time she returned, the gentleman had passed away. Clarke became one of the key figures in launching No One Dies Alone, a program that allows volunteers to sit with terminal patients who have no one else.

Before Radar: How Giant Acoustic Mirrors Detected Enemy Aircraft in WWI and WWII

Before Radar: How Giant Acoustic Mirrors Detected Enemy Aircraft in WWI and WWII

Long before radar revolutionized air defense, enormous acoustic mirrors and specialized sound locators stood as the first line of defense against enemy aircraft. Designed as giant “ears,” these structures amplified distant engine noises, allowing operators to detect incoming planes by sound alone. Dive into the intriguing world of these pioneering listening devices, their operation, limitations, and enduring legacy in military history.

Robert Odlum, the first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge

Robert Odlum, the first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge

The first person to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge was a professional high diver who "wanted to demonstrate that people did not die simply by falling through the air, thus encouraging people to be willing to jump from a burning building into a net." He proved himself correct by safely falling 135 feet through the air and dying only when he hit the water.

Poto And Cabengo: The Secret Language Of Twins

Poto And Cabengo: The Secret Language Of Twins

Poto and Cabengo, as the two girls called each other, communicated in their own language. The twins were ignored by their parents and secluded from the outside world because their father felt they were developmentally retarded, and their unique language evolved as a result of that neglect.

Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust

Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust

Irene Sendler was the Zegota resistance group's head of the children's department. She risked her life to smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto, place them with Polish families or orphanages, give each child a new identity, and keep records so that they could be returned to their families. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and sentenced her to death, but she was rescued by Zegota.

How Sleep Deprivation Was Once Used as Torture

How Sleep Deprivation Was Once Used as Torture

Sleep deprivation, long before modern interrogation techniques, was considered a “clean” and effective form of torture—leaving no physical scars, yet breaking minds with haunting silence. Victims endured days and nights without rest, leading to vivid hallucinations, disorientation, and psychological torment. This article traces the dark history of sleep deprivation as a weapon, examines the science behind its effects on the brain, and shines a light on the painful balance between human endurance and cruelty in the annals of coercion.