A 10-year-old girl gave birth to a child? Believe it or not, it’s true!
A pre-teen Colombian girl gave birth to a baby girl via cesarean section, Univision’s Primer Impacto, reported. The girl’s name is currently unknown. She is from an indigenous tribe called Wayuu in Manaure, La Guajira.
The Telegraph reports that since the indigenous people of Manaure are able to govern themselves under the law, Columbian authorities are not going to press charges.
“We’ve already seen similar cases of Wayuu girls,” Efrain Pacheco Casadiego the director of the hospital where the young girl had her child, said to a Colombian radio station. “At a time when (the girls) should be playing with dolls, they go to having to take care of a baby. It’s shocking.”
Although the 10-year-old was able to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy child, young pregnant mothers face many major risks. According to WebMD, young girls who become pregnant before their bodies are mature enough say the girls face a higher risk for pregnancy-induced hypertension (high blood pressure) or preclampsia. It’s a dangerous condition where moms-to-be who have high blood pressure also have protein in their urine. This protein will cause the girls to suddenly gain weight and induce swelling of their hands and face.
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry adds that young girls who become pregnant could also face long-term mental illness such as depression. They also are more likely to face problems with school failure and poverty.
Doctors were able to help the 10-year-old deliver a healthy 5-pound, 5-ounce baby girl. Both the mother and child are still being taken care of at the hospital, as reported by Univision. The father’s age is unknown.
“These girls are not ready to be pregnant. Their bodies are not mature,” said Dr. Frederick Gonzalez. Dr. Gonzalez is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU Langone Medical Center. He explains to ABC News, “They may be able to get pregnant, but being able to have a baby is a whole other situation.”
Take a peak at the original video taken by Univision’s Primer Impacto which almost has half a million views on YouTube.
