16-Yr-.Old Girl Gives Birth To Second Set Of Triplets
Friday February 22, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
It sadly isn't that unusual for a young teenager to become a mother these days. But even by the most liberal standards, this seems a bit extreme - and it's causing a furor in South America.
A 16-year-old girl from Leones, Argentina has given birth to a set of female triplets. That's shocking enough until you consider this - it's the second time she's done it. The underage mom, known only as "Pamela," bore three babies when she was just 15. And they came after she'd already delivered a son a year before that.
All seven of the kids arrived without fertility treatment and all came prematurely. But amazingly, all have survived and are said to be doing as well as possible.
But the announcements of the blessed events aren't sitting well in the predominantly Catholic country. All across Argentina, it's the number one topic of conversation, with many openly wondering how it could have happened so many times and why the girl's family hasn't stopped her from having more kids.
How does a 16-year-old hope to raise seven infants on her own? She can't of course, and her family isn't well off. Pamela's mother cleans houses for a living and the government has stepped in to aid the besieged clan. Authorities in Argentina have already given them land and even built them a house when the first set of babies arrived. Now there are more and no one is sure exactly how they'll cope.
Public opinion seems to be that while the family can use a helping hand, there's something they need a lot more - sex education on how to prevent from getting pregnant in the first place. It's a lesson that for one child, who turns 17 on Monday, will come far too late.
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