[blossy]

I remember reading once or it may have been on the news a few years ago that the youngest mother on record was a 9 year old child!
It's awfully young even at 11 years of age. Shocking even.

[MJ7]

Originally Posted by blossy

I remember reading once or it may have been on the news a few years ago that the youngest mother on record was a 9 year old child!
It's awfully young even at 11 years of age. Shocking even.

9? OMGosh! That is WAY too close in age to your child! That poor baby (I'm refering to the mother), it must have been so tough.

[WordsAplenty]

Actually, the youngest mother ever was only 5!!! True story. Here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina

[MJ7]

oh my...that makes me want to cry. That poor little girl having to go through what she did...

[J920]

MJ7..pass the tissue box. That is truly sad. Surreal even.
Where there is a will there is way, with regards to the eleven year old girl and her parents.
I know of a teen couple, who got together because the parents were friends.
But sometimes u cant even leave little boys and little girls alone anymore.
I was a party where toddlers kept dancing together and the little girl would get depressed when the boy would leave and when he came back, she was holding his hand, kissing him and hugging him. Its cute. But its an early awareness.
I started menstruating at 11. I cant imagine what that little girl and mother and father must be going through.

[workingdad]

Originally Posted by cocotbo

The worst part about all this is that little girl hasn't finished growing yet. Carrying and delivering a child when her own bones haven't finished growing yet is going to put an amazing strain on her body.
Shazbo is right, except for the fact that you can actually get pregnant before you ever have a period. If you hit it on your very first ovulation, just before your first period - surprise! Baby. Age really has nothing to do with it. Girls are starting their periods much earlier now. There are 9 and 10-year-olds starting their periods now. And with that comes all the hormones and urges that one didn't have to deal with until they hit their teens. It is a very dangerous world if you don't know what's going on.

pardon the slight shift in direction here -- but this point interested me. Anybody know if there are specific reasons why we see early onset of puberty and menstruation cycles in the last ten or fifteen years? I have heard very anectodally and very unscientifically that there's a relationship between these trends and the increased consumption of animal products that contain hormones (meat/poultry/milk in particular). Any other ideas on this, or scientific evidence that supports or refutes this one?

[WordsAplenty]

Originally Posted by workingdad

pardon the slight shift in direction here -- but this point interested me. Anybody know if there are specific reasons why we see early onset of puberty and menstruation cycles in the last ten or fifteen years? I have heard very anectodally and very unscientifically that there's a relationship between these trends and the increased consumption of animal products that contain hormones (meat/poultry/milk in particular). Any other ideas on this, or scientific evidence that supports or refutes this one?

I've heard this, too. It's enough to make me want to make my girls vegetarians, or at the very least go organic. I haven't read any scientific evidence about early onset, but I have read that women with bleeding problems have been treated with low to no meat diets. I can also say that my menstrual problems were drastically improved when I went all veggie. (Yes, workingdad, I know that's more info than you really wanted or needed. Sorry! )

[twinzplus3]

Here is a link I found: http://www.center4research.org/children11.html regarding early onset. There is a disparity between different races so it can't just be animal product foods. Anyhow, I thought this research looked interesting at the very least!

[workingdad]

Originally Posted by WordsAplenty

I've heard this, too. It's enough to make me want to make my girls vegetarians, or at the very least go organic. I haven't read any scientific evidence about early onset, but I have read that women with bleeding problems have been treated with low to no meat diets. I can also say that my menstrual problems were drastically improved when I went all veggie. (Yes, workingdad, I know that's more info than you really wanted or needed. Sorry! )

Misty -- too much information is generally okay by me! Besides, from my point of view, you've taught me a lot about Islam, so you are a fountain of knowledge. Thank you. Of course now you're making me think about my wife's vegetarian days and whether I could say the same of her as you have said about yourself....

[workingdad]

Originally Posted by twinzplus3

Here is a link I found: http://www.center4research.org/children11.html regarding early onset. There is a disparity between different races so it can't just be animal product foods. Anyhow, I thought this research looked interesting at the very least!

thanks twinzplus3 -
i skimmed it and one interesting point was the increase in puberty onset in African American girls in the States... while it may not be simply related to food products, I would suggest that 1)white children, especially those of middle and higher classes, are more likely to get access to hormone-free products (though I'd like to see class-based data), and 2)there may be other environmental factors that might be associated with African Americans such as living in more industrtial/pollutant-heavy urban centers (such factors have been linked to increases in asthma for children living in such places).
The article you linked is a great place to start, but it does look like the research is also only beginning. Thanks again.