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Saturday, March 03, 2007

Mum at 9? It's rare but possible, say doctors
GIRLS and boys reach puberty between 11 and 13 on average.
01 March 2007

GIRLS and boys reach puberty between 11 and 13 on average.

But there have been cases of early puberty, said doctors.

Still, it's very unusual for a 9-year-old to become a parent, a gynaecologist and an urologist told The New Paper.

Gynaecologist Ann Tan has never heard or seen any girl below 14 getting pregnant.

When told of Jane's case, she said: 'This is very frightening, I haven't seen anyone so young getting pregnant.'

On average, girls reach puberty around 11, said Dr Tan, who has 15 years' experience.

Consultant urologist Damian Png, who has more than 10 years' experience, said boys usually reach puberty between 11 and 13.

Once a boy reaches puberty, he will produce sperm. He will then be able to make a girl pregnant.

Dr Png said: 'The average age of puberty has become lower over the years.'

In Britain, Sean Stewart became the country's youngest father in 1998 when his 16-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a boy.

Stewart was only 12 at that time, The Independent reported.

He was 11 when his girlfriend Emma Webster became pregnant when she was 15.

They were neighbours and she thought Stewart was the same age as her when they started dating.

The youngest mother ever on record is Lina Medina from Peru.

She was only 5 when she gave birth to a boy on 14 May 1939.

It was found that she had her first period when she was only 8 months old.

Her son, named Gerardo, died from a bone marrow disease when he was 40 in 1979.

The father of her son was never known as she never revealed the father's identity.

- Alvin Chiang

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