Class Five pupil, 12, gives birth

A 12-year-old Standard Five Pupil at the weekend gave birth to a healthy baby boy in Eldoret.

The girl’s family claims she was defiled but the culprit was allowed to go scot-free by the local administration.

She gave birth at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital on Friday to the baby weighing two-and-a-half kilogrammes. Both mother and child are in stable condition and have been discharged.

Confirming the unusual pre-teen birth, the deputy director in charge of clinical services at the hospital, Dr Wilson Aruasa, said the girl was admitted last Thursday while in labour and gave birth the following morning.

“But her pelvic bones were too small for a normal delivery,” Dr Aruasa explained.

“At 2:25am Friday morning, she successfully underwent a Caesarean Section and a healthy live male infant weighing 2.5 kilogrammes was extracted,” the doctor added.

The minor is said to have dropped out of primary school at the beginning of the year after the discovery of her four-month pregnancy, according to her mother.

“I had no clue my daughter was pregnant until the doctor confirmed that my little girl was indeed four months pregnant. It was indigestible. I did not know how to react,” the girl’s mother said, holding her new grandchild after their release from hospital Monday.

20-year-old herdsman

According to preliminary investigations, a 20-year-old herdsman is responsible for her pregnancy.

“He was apprehended and taken to the area chief, and the chief gave him seven days to bring his parents and that was the last time he was seen in the area,” said the frustrated grandmother.
She further claims that after her daughter’s admission to hospital, she was contacted by some strangers claiming to be from an area known as Kipluluk, who claimed to be the herders relatives. They were interested in keeping her grandson.

Although teenage pregnancies are common in rural areas, pre-teen pregnancies are very rare, according to Dr Aruasa.

“We handle an average of two teenage pregnancies annually, but we have never handled pre-teen cases,” added the doctor, who blamed poverty for most teenage pregnancies in the area.
Pregnant teenagers from poor backgrounds are normally susceptible to anaemia due to sub-standard pre-natal care.

Some experts have pointed out that lifestyle changes and diet are responsible for the relatively lowered puberty age, which has since come down to 9 to 10 years from around 14 years.