A nine-year-old girl has given birth to a baby in China, it has been reported.
The schoolgirl is said to be one of the world's youngest mothers.
She had a 6lb baby boy by caesarean section on January 27 at a hospital in Changchun, in the North Eastern Chinese province of Jilin, a local newspaper has reported.
The City Evening News says the girl was eight and a half months pregnant when the baby was delivered, but both mother and child were well.
Her parents are said to have reported the case to the police - under Chinese law, it is statutory rape to have sex with a child under the age of 14.
The girl's family is said to be from Songyuan, a nearby city with a population of around three million.
A nurse from the hospital told the local newspaper that the girl "looked very mature" but the circumstances around her pregnancy were unclear.
The hospital has declined to make any official comment on the case.
Sex education and protection of children has become a big issue in China with a nationwide campaign to try to preserve their innocence.
Sexual content has been banned from the internet and secondary school pupils can be kicked out of school if they are suspected of having sexual relationships, according to the Telegraph.
But a lack of proper sexual education is thought to be contributing to a rapidly growing number of teenage abortions.
The Telegraph says that at one hospital in Shanghai, almost a third of abortions are carried out on school pupils and last year a clinic in the city of Chongqing came under the spotlight for advertising half-price abortions for anyone with a student card.
The world's youngest ever mother is thought to be Lina Medina, from Peru, who had a baby at the age of five, back in 1939.
The youngest mum in Britain is believed to be a 12-year-old who gave birth in 2006.
Source: Telegraph