A girl became Britain’s youngest mom at the age of 11. Reports say became pregnant when she was 10 and delivered a healthy baby after 30 weeks. What’s even more incredible is that her family had no clue she was expecting. The social services and council chiefs began investigating the situation.
An anonymous source who knows that family spoke to the Sun. “It has come as a big shock. She’s now being surrounded by expert help. The main thing is that she and the baby are OK. There are questions around why people did not know. That is very worrying.”
Britain’s Youngest Mom
While this birth may sound impossible, the truth is girls are developing faster than in previous generations. This is attributed to several biological and environmental factors, such as the typical diet nowadays. On average, however, girls reach puberty at 11, though it could occur between the ages of 8 and 14.
Dr. Carol Cooper commented on “Britain’s youngest mom,” according to NZ Herald, “This is the youngest mother I’ve heard of. The average age at which a girl begins puberty is 11, though it can be anytime between 8 and 14, or younger. Weight affects many hormones. Because children are heavier, puberty is happening earlier these days.”
She added, “There’s a higher risk of a low-birthweight baby, pre-eclampsia, premature labor and many infections. Around one in every 2,500 births happens to someone who doesn’t know she’s pregnant (or has hidden it).”
Not much more is known about Britain’s youngest mom and her pregnancy, and it’s unclear if the family will give more details to the press.
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Tressa Middleton
The previous youngest mom in Britain was Tressa Middleton. She gave birth in 2006 at the age of 12. After raising her daughter for two years, Tressa was forced to give her child to adoption services when she revealed the truth about her conception. Unfortunately, the father was her brother, who had raped her when he was 16 and she was just 11. He was later imprisoned for the crime. However, Tressa hopes to find and meet her daughter one day. At age 24, Middleton had a second child, Arihanna, with her fiance Darren Young, 30.
She said in an interview with the Daily Mirror, “I am so grateful I am finally going to be the mother I have longed to be all these years. But I don’t ever want my first child to think I abandoned her, or that I am replacing her with this new baby. I’d welcome her back tomorrow with open arms if I could and I hope she knows she will always be a part of our family. But this is the future for me and I can’t keep looking back. The past has made me even more determined to keep this child and give him or her the best possible life.”
Read More: Mom gave birth to identical triplets – The chances of it happening was as high as 1 in 200 million
The Youngest Moms in the World
In 1939, five-year-old Lina Medina gave birth in Peru. Her parents had assumed Lina had a tumor so they took her to the hospital. However, the medical staff told them she was seven months pregnant. In the end, she gave birth to a baby weighing 2.69 kg. The doctors decided that she had entered precocious puberty, which is when a child reaches puberty too soon.
Additionally, a six-year-old in India delivered via c-section. She is only known as “H”. Her parents also believed she had a tumor after she suffered from abdominal pain. According to Yahoo News, H hadn’t begun menstruation at that time. The baby is said to have weighed 1.90 kg at birth.
Then there was Liza who was also five when she gave birth just days before her sixth birthday. Unfortunately, the baby died as the labor went on because of a placental tear. The doctors say the baby could have lived but Liza’s parents didn’t allow a caesarian section because it was considered dangerous.
However, Liza and Tressa had something in common. Liza was also raped by a family member, in this case, her maternal grandfather. Tressa has expressed that she hadn’t realized how horrible her experience was until she got older. Especially when her first child turned 10. “Britain’s youngest mom” is a title no child should ever have.
“My little girl is 10 now. She’ll be 11 in the summer, almost the same age I was when I fell pregnant,” said Tressa Middleton in 2017. “It has made me realize just how young I was when all that happened. At the time I didn’t feel like I was that young because I had already been through so much but now, it makes me feel sick. No child should have that happen.”
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