In 1939, a five-year-old girl in Peru became the youngest mother in recorded history.

History · Published 3 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Lina Medina was just five years, seven months, and 21 days old when she delivered a healthy baby boy via caesarean section. Her case, verified by medical professionals through biopsies and X-rays, remains a singular, profound anomaly in human biology, driven by the rare condition of extreme precocious puberty.

Born in 1933 in the Castrovirreyna Province of Peru, Lina Medina was brought to a hospital in Pisco by her parents at age five, initially suspected of carrying a tumor. Instead, doctors discovered she was seven months pregnant. Specialists in Lima, including Dr. Gerardo Lozada, confirmed the diagnosis. Medical reports published in La Presse Médicale by Dr. Edmundo Escomel detailed that Medina had experienced menarche at eight months of age and had maintained a regular cycle since age three. Her sexual organs were fully mature, a physiological state that allowed for conception at age four.

On 14 May 1939, Medina gave birth to a son, Gerardo, weighing 2.7 kilograms. Because of her small pelvis, the delivery required a caesarean section performed by Drs. Lozada, Busalleu, and Colareta. The case drew global attention, including offers from American film studios to document the event, which were rejected. While some speculated the case was a hoax, multiple medical experts verified the pregnancy through physical evidence, including fetal skeletal X-rays and photographs taken during her seventh month of gestation.

The identity of the father and the circumstances of the pregnancy were never established. Medina’s father was arrested on suspicion of abuse but released due to a lack of evidence. Medina herself could not provide clear details. Gerardo was raised believing Medina was his sister until he was 10 years old. He grew up in the care of Dr. Lozada, who also employed Medina as a secretary in his Lima clinic, providing her with an education. Gerardo lived until 1979, dying at age 40 from bone marrow disease. Medina later married and had a second son in 1972, consistently avoiding public scrutiny in her later years.

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