Who is Lina Medina? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Lina Vanessa Medina

Age: 91 Years, 91 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Raúl Jurado

children: Gerardo Medina

Recommended For You

1

What is the medical condition that made Lina Medina famous?

Lina Medina is known for being the youngest confirmed mother in medical history, giving birth at the age of 5 years and 7 months.
2

How did Lina Medina's case impact medical knowledge and research?

Lina Medina's case contributed to advancements in the understanding of precocious puberty and the potential risks associated with early pregnancy.
3

Are there any documented records of Lina Medina's child and their well-being?

Lina Medina's son, Gerardo, was reportedly raised as her brother and grew up healthy, despite the circumstances of his birth.
4

What measures were taken to protect Lina Medina and her child's privacy after the case gained international attention?

Lina Medina and her family were provided with privacy and protection to shield them from media intrusion and public scrutiny.
5

How did Lina Medina's story shed light on societal issues related to child exploitation and abuse?

Lina Medina's case sparked discussions about child welfare, exploitation, and the need for better protection of vulnerable individuals in society.

Childhood & Early Life

Lina Medina was born Lina Marcela Medina de Jurado on September 23, 1933 in Ticrapo, Peru. Her father Tiburelo Medina was a silversmith and her mother Victoria Losea was a homemaker. She had eight siblings.

When Lina was 5 years old, her parents noticed an abnormal abdominal swelling in her. Fearing it might be a tumor of some kind, her family was worried. However, the doctor’s diagnosis baffled everyone.

Initially, Dr. Gerardo Lozada diagnosed Lina as being seven months pregnant. He also took her to specialists and other fellow doctors to confirm. The diagnosis was an unusual one and Dr. Lozada immediately contacted the police.

The police first arrested Lina’s father suspecting incest and child abuse, but later released him due to lack of evidence. One of Lina’s siblings, who was mentally challenged, also came under scrutiny but there was no evidence implicating him as the child’s father.

Lina’s parents took a firm stand protecting the privacy of their child and rejected the offers of filming or using Lina’s condition for their financial gains. The family also revealed that Lina had started ovulating when she was just 8 months old and had started menstruating at the age of 3. She had started showing signs of development and had prominent breast development and widening of the pelvis at an early age.

Her baby was delivered via Caesarean section since her pelvis and bone maturation was insufficient for a normal delivery to take place. The doctors also found that she had fully developed mature sexual organs. The baby weighed 2.7 kg and was named Gerardo Medina after her doctor.

Lina was titled the youngest confirmed mother in medical history and was also named a medical marvel. Several institutions and research facilities offered to study Lina and her son, but her parents did not want their daughter and grandson to spend their childhood in research laboratories.

Continue Reading Below

Later Life

Lina’s son Gerardo grew up believing she was his sister and found out at the age of 10 that she was in fact his mother. The biological father of the child has never been found to this day, with some suggesting that Lina herself might not know who the father was.

Gerardo grew up like a normal child and Dr. Lozada took Lina under his care and guidance and made sure she received proper education. He also made sure little Gerardo would receive all the help he needed and paid for his schooling as well. She worked as a secretary at the Lima clinic and assisted Dr. Lozada.

Later when she was 33, Lina married Raul Jurado and gave birth to their son named Raul Jurado Jr. in 1972. She turned down a number of interviews and offers to appear on shows, settling for a normal life instead. According to her husband, Raul Jurado, she also refused an interview with Reuters.

In 1979, Gerardo died from a bone marrow disease at the age of 40. There was no indication linking his infection to his unusual birth circumstance. Till then he had led a healthy and normal life.

Lina continues to live with her husband in Little Chicago, a poor district in Peru, and has led a life of poverty. She refuses to sell her story and revisit the past trauma and doesn’t find it right to make money.

In the recent years, her house was demolished because of a road widening project. However, she received no compensation for it and was reported to be furious. She spoke in a number of interviews about it and also blamed the government for subjecting her to poverty, since the compensations she was promised as a child were never actually given to her.

Facts About Lina Medina

Lina Medina holds the record for being the youngest confirmed mother in history, giving birth at the age of 5.

Despite the unusual circumstances of her pregnancy, Lina Medina's case helped advance medical knowledge and understanding of rare reproductive conditions.

Lina's son, born via C-section and named Gerardo, grew up healthy and lived a normal life, which is a testament to the medical care and support she received.

Lina's case highlighted the importance of early detection and treatment of precocious puberty, a condition in which a child's body matures sexually at an unusually early age.

Lina Medina Biography

You wanted to know

What is the medical condition that made Lina Medina famous?

How did Lina Medina's case impact medical knowledge and research?

Are there any documented records of Lina Medina's child and their well-being?

What measures were taken to protect Lina Medina and her child's privacy after the case gained international attention?

How did Lina Medina's story shed light on societal issues related to child exploitation and abuse?