We are all aware of young mothers, but who are the world’s youngest mothers? Recently a child living in the Northeastern United States gave birth at 11 years old. Her name and exact location have not yet been revealed, although it is probably only a matter of time.
We do not know the circumstances of this child’s pregnancy. She gave birth to a baby boy, and they are both reported to be doing fine. Here are some examples of other very young mothers in the United States.
- 2008; A 10-year-old Idaho girl gave birth to a child. She had been raped.
- 2007; An 11-year-old child from Ohio gave birth to a child. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend.
- 2006; A10-year-old girl from South Carolina was raped by a 26-year-old man and gave
- 2002; In Connecticut, an 11-year-old gave birth after being raped.
- 1979; A 10-year-old girl gave birth to twins in Indianapolis.
The youngest mothers documented have not been in the United States. These are some of the youngest mothers in the world.
- 2010: A 9-year-old in China gave birth to a healthy baby on January 27th. Some hospitals in China report that a large percentage of abortions performed are on schoolgirls who have been raped.
- 2009; An 11-year-old in Bulgaria gave birth on her wedding day. She was marrying the baby’s father, her 19-year-old boyfriend. He faces possible jail time for sex with the underage girl.
- 2007; A South African 11-year-old girl was raped by an adult and gave birth to a baby boy.
- 2006; An 11-year-old child in Great Britain gave birth. She had been raped.
- 2006; An 8-year-old Peruvian girl gave birth after being raped.
- 2006; A 10-year-old child gave birth in Belgium. The father was the girl’s 13-year-old boyfriend.
- 2005; A Chilean 10-year-old gave birth after being
- 2004; An 11-year-old Ukrainian girl gave birth after being raped by a neighbor.
- 2001; A 9-year-old gave birth in Thailand. The father was the child’s husband, who was 27 years old. In Thailand this is legal.
- 1939; The youngest person to have a documented birth was a 6-year-old in Peru who became pregnant when she was 5. Her father was suspected of but not charged with raping her.
Most cases of pregnancy in very young girls seem to occur because of rape and even incest. In most countries, this is illegal. However there are still some countries where rape of young children is permitted or simply not prosecuted.
Rates of pregnancy in children might be increasing due to puberty occurring early than before. It is a very rare circumstance that a 5-year-old could become pregnant. It is still rare, but becoming more common now, for an 11-year-old to be physically able to become pregnant.
Sexual abuse of children is a very real problem all over the world, and these youngest mothers are often a result.
