12-year-old girl gives birth
A 12-year-old school-girl on Monday gave birth to a baby-boy at Mutorele Hospital in Kisoro district.
A 12-year-old school-girl on Monday gave birth to a baby-boy at Mutorele Hospital in Kisoro district.
The child mother (name withheld), a pupil of Mantinza Primary School in Nyakabande sub-county, told nurses the baby’s father was a 17-year-old boy of the same school, whom she said was “a long time friend.â€
A nurse at the hospital said the baby weighed 3.5 kg and would remain in intensive care for at least a week.
The girl’s mother attended to her and occasionally assisted her to squeeze breast milk into a cup.
The news about the birth drew scores of curious visitors who wanted to catch a glimpse of the child mother.
Residents argued that the girl is below the age of consent and demanded that the boy be charged with defilement.
The district probation officer, Stanley Columbus, warned residents against out-of-court settlement for defilement cases, saying defilement was a serious offence.
In many cases, parents agree with the defiler’s relatives and settle for monetary compensation.
The Mantinza PS pupil is one of the youngest mothers in Uganda. World-wide, there are only about 20 known cases of child mothers below the age of 12.
The youngest child mother ever was Lina Medina from Peru, who gave birth in 1939 to a baby-boy at the age of five.
Her parents, who assumed their daughter had a tumour, took her to a hospital, where she was found to be seven months pregnant.
Although Medina’s father was arrested on suspicion of rape, he was later released due to lack of evidence, and the identity of who impregnated Medina was never uncovered.
The reason for Medina’s precocious fertility stemmed from an extraordinary hormonal disorder, causing her to have periods from the age of eight months.
The youngest known African child mother is a nine-year-old Rwandan girl who gave birth to a baby-boy by caesarean section at a hospital in Butare in December 2005. The child became pregnant after being raped by her family’s domestic servant.
Reported by Attractor Kamahoro
The child mother (name withheld), a pupil of Mantinza Primary School in Nyakabande sub-county, told nurses the baby’s father was a 17-year-old boy of the same school, whom she said was “a long time friend.â€
A nurse at the hospital said the baby weighed 3.5 kg and would remain in intensive care for at least a week.
The girl’s mother attended to her and occasionally assisted her to squeeze breast milk into a cup.
The news about the birth drew scores of curious visitors who wanted to catch a glimpse of the child mother.
Residents argued that the girl is below the age of consent and demanded that the boy be charged with defilement.
The district probation officer, Stanley Columbus, warned residents against out-of-court settlement for defilement cases, saying defilement was a serious offence.
In many cases, parents agree with the defiler’s relatives and settle for monetary compensation.
The Mantinza PS pupil is one of the youngest mothers in Uganda. World-wide, there are only about 20 known cases of child mothers below the age of 12.
The youngest child mother ever was Lina Medina from Peru, who gave birth in 1939 to a baby-boy at the age of five.
Her parents, who assumed their daughter had a tumour, took her to a hospital, where she was found to be seven months pregnant.
Although Medina’s father was arrested on suspicion of rape, he was later released due to lack of evidence, and the identity of who impregnated Medina was never uncovered.
The reason for Medina’s precocious fertility stemmed from an extraordinary hormonal disorder, causing her to have periods from the age of eight months.
The youngest known African child mother is a nine-year-old Rwandan girl who gave birth to a baby-boy by caesarean section at a hospital in Butare in December 2005. The child became pregnant after being raped by her family’s domestic servant.
Reported by Attractor Kamahoro