12-YEAR_OLD BECOMES A MOTHER

From Avanindra Mishra, TNN

JAIPUR: She was too young to even realise that she was pregnant until she gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday. Due to ignorance and illiteracy,

the only medical care she got during pregnancy was when an ambulance picked her up from a pavement to admit her to a hospital but that too after she had delivered the baby.

According to doctors, the mother is 12 or 13-year-old. Both the mother and the babyare doing fine, they said. The girl, Komal (name changed), has yet to come to terms to the fact that she now is a mother. A rag picker, she used to live on the roadside in Hasanpura.

"The girl and the baby were brought to the hospital in the wee hours of Wednesday. Both are in good health. The girl appears to be around 12 years old and it's amazing that she had a normal delivery,'' said Dr Bhanwar Singh Meena.

She claimed she was "married'' to a boy of her age group, Jeetu, who stayed with her for nearly 45 days a few months ago. Her father has a different tale to tell, though. "She used to live with a guy till some time ago, but we are not sure if this is his child. She never told me that she felt different. It was only last night that she complained of pain and it was only when she gave birth to the child that the situation became evident,'' said her father.

The family is yet to decide about the mother and the baby. Hospital authorities said most probably both the mother and baby will be sent to a child shelter home. The police have not registered any case.