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Thursday, February 4, 2010
Youngest
Living Mother - Chinese schoolgirl sets world record
CHANGCHUN, China -- A nine-year-old schoolgirl
gave birth, on January 27, by Caesarean section, to a healthy
boy weighing 6lb (2.75 kilograms) , setting the world record for the Youngest
Living Mother. 
The unnamed girl was brought to a hospital
in Changchun, which lies in the north-east of the country,
when she was eight and a half months pregnant.
(enlarge
photo)
Her family - said to be from Songyuan
in north east China - has refused to discuss the pregnancy
but said they had reported it to police. In Songyuan, sex
with a child under the age of 14 attracts a mandatory rape
conviction and jail sentence, the Daily Mail reported.
Police were reportedly trying to find out who
the baby's father was. A nurse told the City Evening News
the girl "looked very mature" but it was not known how she
had become pregnant.
In Shanghai, China's largest city, one hospital
recently said that about 30% of abortions were carried out
on school-aged girls.
China has launched a nationwide campaign
to preserve the innocence of its children, banning any sexual
content from the internet. Secondary school pupils are often
suspended or expelled if they are suspected of having sexual
relationships.
However, critics point out that there is
a need for proper sexual education in order to combat the
fast-rising number of teenage abortions.
Last year, a clinic in the central city
of Chongqing was criticised after advertising half-price abortions
for anyone with a student card. Advertisements for "Student
Care Month" showed a schoolgirl wearing uniform, saluting
and saying: "I am a student, I have special rights".
The Guinness world record for the Youngest
Mother
in recorded history was set by Lina Medina, a five-year-old
girl from Pisco, Peru.
On Mother’s Day in 1939, when Lina was
just under 5 years and 8 months old, her baby was delivered
by cesarean section. It was a healthy 6 pound baby boy, and
was named Gerardo after the doctor who originally diagnosed
Lina’s pregnancy, Dr. Gérado Lozada.
In 1957 another Peruvian girl, aged
nine, gave birth to a girl weighing just over 6lb and, curiously,
it was in 2006 that yet another Peruvian girl, aged eight,
gave birth to a 4lb 4oz girl. Several other
girls aged nine, from Thailand, Singapore, Rwanda and Brazil,
have also given birth. Mothers aged as young as 10 and 11
have also become an increasing occurrence.
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Related world records:
Smallest
mother - Stacey Herald sets world record
Oldest
Mother- Omkari Panwar
Most
prolific surrogate mother-world record set by Carole Horlock
Thursday, February 4, 2010
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