Mexican girl, 9, gives birth, authorities seek father

A nine-year-old Mexican girl has given birth and authorities are looking for the presumed father, who is 17, officials said Wednesday.

The girl, identified as Dafne, gave birth by Cesarean section to a baby girl weighing 2.7 kilos (5.7 pounds) and measuring 50 centimeters (20 inches) on January 27 in a hospital in the western state of Jalisco.

The girl was not seen by doctors during her pregnancy and was almost in labor when she arrived at the hospital, said Enrique Rabago, director of the Occidente General Hospital where the child gave birth in the town of Zapopan.

"It is dismaying that a young girl became pregnant. You shouldn't be pregnant at this age," Rabago told a news conference.

A C-section was carried out because it was safer for the mother and baby, he said. The two were released in good condition and they will have an extensive follow-up in the coming days due to the mother's age.

The hospital notified the authorities of the birth.

Sources in the Jalisco state prosecutor's office told AFP that the girl declared that she had consensual sex.

The girl and the teenager were apparently a couple, the source said. The boy offered that the girl live with him when he found out she was pregnant, but she refused.

But Jorge Villasenor, an official at the prosecutor's office, described the encounter as a case of rape or child abuse.

"We are looking for the young man to get his story because she does not understand what has happened. This is a rape or child sex abuse case," he said on Tuesday.

Dafne's mother said the girl was eight when she became pregnant.

"The father is a boy who is 17, but we have not found him, since he ran away," the mother told reporters.

A source close to the investigation said Dafne comes from a large family in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos, a humble village some 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Guadalajara.

"There are 11 siblings. Apparently their parents are separated and there was little care by the mother with so many children," the source said. "With the birth, (Dafne's mother) and grandmother are taking care of things now."

Each year, 480,000 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 give birth in Mexico, according to the health ministry.

"There are pregnancies among teenagers, but girls between 10 and 12 years old are exceptions and most of the time it is due to a rape," Doctor Antonio Flores Villalon, a reproductive health specialist in Mexico City, told AFP.

"Girls are still growing at that age. They are physically immature, and this puts them at higher risk," he said. "This is the case for all minors who are under 18, but when they are under 15, the risks increase."

<관련 한글 기사>

9세 소녀 아기 낳아,"대체 아빠가 누구?!"

9세 소녀가 아기를 출산해 멕시코 당국이 아이의 아버지 수배에 나섰다.

이름이 데프니라고 밝혀진 알려진 이 소녀는 지난 1월 27일 제왕절개로 2.7 kg의 여아를 멕시코 서부의 주 할리스코의 한 병원에서 출산했다.

데프니는 임신 기간 동안 따로 진료를 받지 않은 것으로 알려졌으며, 병원에 도착했을 때는 이미 진통 중에 있던 것으로 알려졌다.

“이렇게 어린 소녀가 임산부가 되다니 당혹스럽다. 그 나이에 임산부가 되서는 안된다”고 데프니가 출산한 오시덴트 종합병원의 병원장 엔리끄 로바고가 말했다.

로바고 원장은 데프니와 아기의 안전을 위해 제왕절개를 집도했으며, 두 사람 모두 건강한 상태로 퇴원했지만 산모의 어린 나이로 인해 차기 검진이 이루어 질 것이라고 덧붙였다.

할리스코 검찰 관계자는 데프니가 합의하에 17세로 알려진 남성과 관계를 맺었다고 밝혔다.

그는 또 “데프니가 이 사건에 대해 정확하게 이해하지 못하기 때문에 상대 남성의 입장을 듣기 위해 수배 중에 있다. 이 사건은 강간 또는 성폭행으로 간주될 수 있다”고 말했다.

데프니의 어머니는 기자들에게 데프니가 8살에 임산부가 됐다며 “아기의 아버지는 17살인 소년이다. 그가 도망친 이 후 아직 찾지 못했다”고 말했다. 

멕시코 보건 당국에 따르면 매년 480,000명의 14-18세의 멕시코 여학생들이 아이를 낳는 것으로 나타났다.