9-year-old girl in Mexico gives birth to baby girl

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – A 9-year-old girl in Mexico has given birth to a baby girl, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday.

Authorities are now hunting for the 17-year-old father in what they believe is a case of rape or sexual abuse, Mexican newspaper Milenio reported.

"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," Jorge Villasenor with the state prosecutors' office was quoted by Terra Noticias as saying.

The girl, who has been identified as Dafne, was just over 8 when she got pregnant, the mother of the girl told local officials in the western state of Jalisco, AFP reported.

The mother didn't report the case to state authorities because she didn't think it was a crime, Aristegui Noticias reported. 

When the mother and her daughter arrived at the hospital for the birth, doctors informed the woman that her daughter may have been a victim of sexual assault. It was only then that state authorities were notified. 

UPDATE: Mexico authorities blame parents of 9-year-old girl who gave birth to baby girl

The girl is one of 11 children living in the poverty stricken municipality of Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos, 25 miles south of Guadalajara, El Universal and the Associated Press reported.

Lino Ginzalez Corona, a spokesperson at the state prosecutors' office, told the AP that the girl claims she and the teenage boy were in a loving relationship and she didn't realize she was pregnant until the seventh month. 

The boy ran away after the girl refused to move in with him. 

Milenio said the baby girl was born on Jan. 27 in Zoquipan Hospital, weighing 5.7 pounds. The mother was given a C-section due to her age, Dr Enrique Rabago, director of the hospital, told a news conference on Wednesday.

Both girls were released from the hospital over the weekend and are in good health, Rabago said. The young mother received psychological counseling before and after the birth and both girls will continue to be monitored, Spanish news agency EFE reported.

The girl received a "subdermal implant" to avoid further pregnancies, the AFP said.

Dafne doesn't appear to be the youngest mother in the world, but according to compiled reports she's among them.

Young mothers face a host of physical and emotional risks. Girls who have babies before reaching full sexual development can encounter serious physical problems — for example, fistulas caused by obstructed labor — due to the inability of their bodies to bear the weight and size of an infant.

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