Youngest mother in Africa: Girl (10) gave birth in Nigeria

The Peruvian Lina Medina Vásquez was the youngest mother in history in the world, having given birth on May 14, 1939, at the age of 5 years, 7 months, and 17 days. This world record was preceded by a similar case in India (6 years, 7 months and 27 days), in June 1932. But the Nigerian Masenengen, 10, who gave birth to a baby girl in a hospital in Makurdi, August 5, 2019, had also caused a sensation in Benue State.

An unpublished story, which hit the headlines, making a girl infamous in Nigeria. The minor, Masenengen, who lost her father right after birth, was abandoned at the North Bank Area General Hospital in Makurdi on a Sunday evening. Her mother was reportedly married to another man in a remote village. Since then, the girl had survived the mercy of the streets.

The young mother’s condition in the hospital drew sympathizers, even as she cried uncontrollably after having labor spasms for three days before being taken to the hospital.

As the case caused a stir with the number of curious people skyrocketing, a benevolent individual by the name of Ukan Kurugh, popular for his humanitarian work, took action that yielded positive results.

Ukan Kurugh confided that shortly after hearing the story, he rushed to the hospital. In agreement with the staff and relatives who had come to assist the girl. He requested that she be transferred to a hospital established by the Konshisha Street Foundation.

“At 1:00 am, she was moved from the general hospital to that of the Foundation, and in less than an hour, she gave birth to a little girl weighing 2.5 kg by cesarean section,” according to the hospital source.

At 10 years old, Masenengen enters the history of motherhood in Nigeria. She is now the youngest mother in Africa’s most populous country, with around 214,028,302 inhabitants.

She was molested and become pregnant while in the camp. The identity of the man who impregnated the child is still not known, but it has been established that Masenengen was repeatedly molested before she was taken in.

Even if her life has not been a long quiet river, Masenengen seems to give meaning to her existence since this sad story. She now leads a peaceful life with her family, hoping for a better future.