11-Year-Old Girl Gives Birth

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584936,00.html

An 11-year-old girl in the Northeast recently gave birth to a baby boy. The girl and her baby are doing well, despite the fact that there are many dangers and complications associated with having a child at such a young age.

Dr. Abdulla Al-Khan said, "Once you expose a child this young to high amounts of progesterone and especially estrogen, there is a possibility that it could halt her growth." Al-Khan pointed out several other medical challenges facing a pregnant pre-teen:

• The pelvis is not defined for natural childbirth

• The vagina could be injured during natural childbirth.

• The patient is at a high risk for preeclampsia, a pregnancy condition which can lead to convulsions and multi-system organ failure.

• A higher risk of pre-term labor and delivery, meaning that the baby's size would be compromised, putting the baby at risk for developmental issues, fetal growth restriction and chromosomal abnormalities.

• High incidence of stillbirth.

• Higher incidence of cholestasis of pregnancy, which can lead to stillbirth and placenta issues.

• A chance of developing fatty liver, which can be fatal.

There are also many psychological issues associated with with pre-teen pregnancy, said Al-Khan. "There are so many psychological minefields in store for her. Feelings of guilt, feelings of wanting to nurture another human being, and yet this is all very, very complex and intense when she looks to her own family to essentially support, and if you will, father her child."

According to the Guttmacher Institute, nearly half of all 15-19 year olds in the U.S. have had sex at least once. In 2002, 13 percent of never-married females aged 15-19 had had sex before the age of 15. The youngest documented case of a child pregnancy was in 1939 in Lima, Peru. Lina Medina was 6 years old when she became pregnant and gave birth to a baby.