Lina Medina was born on September 27, 1933, in Paurange. At the age of 5 years 8 months, she gave birth to her first child on May 14, 1939.
She still holds the record for the youngest mother in the world.
Lina Medina’s parents thought their 5-year-old daughter had a huge abdominal tumor so her father carried her to a hospital, just over a month later; she gave birth to a boy.
Born at full term at Lima’s maternity clinic, her child was taken through a caesarean operation (Dr. Lozada and Busalleu, operators, Dr. Colretta, anaesthesiologist).
The child (boy), weighing 2,700 grams, was well-formed and in good health.
The child and mother were able to leave the clinic after only a few days.
Doctor Lozada has conducted very detailed studies since the diagnostic of the pregnancy which aroused much curiosity in the country; he took an x-ray of the child and her baby, established a diagnostic of the foetal situation, and observed the state of functionality of the little mother who had begun menstruating at the age of 8 months.
At four years old she had already developed breasts as well as pubic hair, her body proportions were a bit amazing and her bone hardening a bit advanced things that are often observed in cases of such premature pregnancy.
The child was named Gerardo, which was the name of one of the doctors who attended Medina and who became their mentor.
When he reached 10 years old, he discovered that the person he had grown up believing to be his sister was actually his mother.
Within a week of Gerado being born, the story was all over the newspapers.
Gerardo died in 1979 at age 40 from a disease that attacks the body’s bone marrow, but it was said it was not clear there was any link with his illness and the fact his mother had been so young at his birth.
Lina married over 25 years later and in 1972 she had a second son, which was 33 years after her first.
