By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A nine year-old girl from northeast China gave birth to a 6 pound baby boy, making her one of the youngest girls ever to give birth.
According to a report appearing on the SraitsTimes.com, the child was delivered by cesarean section on Jan. 27 and local media is reporting that both mother and baby are doing fine.
Staff from the Changchun hospital, in Jilin province, where the child was born, are refusing to comment on the birth.
The circumstances surrounding the girl’s pregnancy are sketchy and the parents are said to be seeking legal help regarding the situation. In China, sex with a child under the age of 14 is an automatic rape conviction.
Underage pregnancies are on the rise in China with a Shanghai-based hospital reporting that 30 percent of all abortions it performs are on school-aged girls. At least one-third of these abortions are performed on girls who are in their second and third trimester of pregnancy.
Surprisingly, this girl is not the youngest to become a mother. That record is currently held by a five year old Peruvian girl who gave birth in 1939. The second youngest case occurred in 2006 when an 8-year old gave birth in the same country. Thus far there have been five cases of nine year-olds giving birth, nine cases of 10 year-olds, and eight cases of 11-year old mothers.
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