The 9-year-old girl named Dafne who gave birth in Mexico on Jan. 27 got sterilized without her mother's consent and against her wishes by the doctors who delivered her baby, according to reports.
Doctors from Zoquipan Hospital in Jalisco performed a Cesarean section on Dafne, and director of the Dr. Enrique Rabago told ABC that the decision to do so was "due to her young age and the fact that her body was not ready to give birth." Both Dafne and her daughter, reportedly named Maria de los Angeles, were released from the hospital over the weekend.
However, doctors also reportedly notified local prosecutors about the 9-year-old's birth, likely because under Mexican law, it's a crime to have sex with anyone under the age of 15, even if they give consent. Zoquipan hospital is also said not to have tracked Dafne's case and only became aware of a possible crime when Dafne was brought into the hospital as she was in labor.
Nevertheless, Dafne's mother, who is in her early 40s and can't read or write, reported the hospital to the Jalisco Human Rights Commission, which is investigating. According to Guadalajara's Mural newspaper, she also didn't even think that it was a crime that somebody so young like her daughter having sex was a crime until showed up at the hospital with her daughter in labor.
As one would expect, the media has been all over this story, and on Thursday, the family of 14, including the newborn baby girl, fled their Guadalajara home in a taxi just hours before police and the local mayor showed up to speak with them.
El Occidental newspaper reported that Dafne could have been raped multiple times over several months but claimed that it was never violent.
Neighbors have made claims against Dafne's stepfather that not only has he abused one of his own biological daughters, but he also used to beat Dafne and sleep in the same bed and bathe with her. That, in turn, sparks the notion that he may have raped her and, as a result, is the father of little Maria.
"What he has done has shamed our family," said one of the stepfather's relative to the Daily Mail. "I don't know why the girl's mother lets him carry on the way he has. They're both liars and I think it's terrible what has happened."
Neighbors in Colonial los Olivos, the poor suburb 25 miles south of Guadalajara where the stepfather and the rest of the family live, said that they were relieved that everyone had fled.
"Dafne is a child. She's just a child. The girl's mother is in love with him so she protects him, and this is what happens."
The father was at first thought to be Dafne's boyfriend who may be between 15 and 17. But, DNA testing is reportedly being given to all of her male relatives to confirm who exactly the dad is.
The aforementioned boyfriend is claimed to have asked Dafne to run away with him once Dafne found out she was pregnant just seven months into her cycle and her family found out about him. Now, the authorities are looking for him after he fled following her birth.
State prosecutor Jorge Villasenor described Dafne and her supposed boyfriend's sexual relationship as "rape or child sex abuse."
"We are looking for the young man to get his story because she does not understand what happened," he added.
Mexican newspapers have dubbed Dafne "baby mother," a pun on the term usually used to refer to the mother of a child, not the fact she is still a "baby" herself.
Still, while Dafne is in many eyes a "baby" who is now a true mother, she has played the role of mother before. She has 10 brothers and sisters and is described as the "caretaker" of her family. Basically, she doesn't go to school, but instead spends all day cooking at home, only going out to shop for groceries.
Neighbors have backed the fact that Dafne rarely goes outside, saying that in some cases when she does, she is seen only wearing a towel. They also claim that her mother works as a prostitute and tried to recruit her own daughter to become one, too.
Metro newspaper reported that neighbors also fear that Dafne's mother may have AIDS, which she passed on to Dafne, and therefore on her baby as well. In addition, there are fears that Dafne's body may not work correctly for the long haul because of the hormone imbalances brought about by having a child at such a young age.
It's reported that last year, around 25 percent of the pregnancies in Zopopan Hospital were among teens.
Neighbors described Dafne as "kind and very sweet" and said she looked much older than nine. They thought that she was 15 until they shockingly read in the papers about her true age.
A woman who lives next door to Dafne and her family said that Dafne was about four feet tall with a light complexion and long blond hair past her shoulders.
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