05 November,2010 07:36 AM IST | | Agencies
10-year-old Romanian girl who shot to fame as one of the world's youngest mothers has split from the father; is to raise tot by herself
The girl of 10 who became one of the world's youngest mums has already split from the baby's 13-year-old dad.
The youngster, called Elena, gave birth to 6lb 6oz Nicoletta last week.
She had apparently been living with the child's teenage dad.
But relatives yesterday revealed he is no longer dating the young mum. The Romanian girl flew to Spain three weeks ago to give birth and attend a family wedding.
Meanwhile, Olimpia, the mother of the 10-year-old says she's delighted to have a new granddaughter and doesn't understand why the birth has shocked anyone ufffd let alone become an international sensation.
Spanish authorities have released few details about the case to protect the girl's privacy.
But yesterday, her mother told the media that the baby's father is a 13-year-old boy who is still in Romania and is no longer going out with her daughter.
The 10-year-old girl and her baby daughter plan to stay in Spain because the young couple separated, said the girl's mother.
She also said she didn't understand the attention the case was generating because she and her daughter are Romanian Gypsies, or Roma, and their custom is to allow girls to marry young even though that's against the law in Romania.
"That's the way we get married," the girl's mother said outside the modest apartment building in the southern town of Lebrija where the family lives.
Internet sensation
Meanwhile, the story was going viral on the Internet and causing an uproar in Spain.
"Mother at 10 years old" blared a headline in Barcelona's La Vanguardia newspaper, which dedicated two pages to the story.
In contrast, news about the 10-year-old mother barely registered in Romania, where stories buried inside newspapers focused on the controversy the birth had caused among Spaniards.
The girl moved to Spain about three weeks ago, her mother said, and her baby was born in a hospital last week in the city of Jerez de la Frontera. There were no complications during the birth, and the 10-year-old and her baby are doing fine, her mother said.
"She's doing well and is very happy with her daughter," the woman said.
The mother and her baby are living with the new grandmother while Spanish social welfare authorities determine whether the family will be able to provide for the baby.
Leading daily El Pais and other Spanish news media said prosecutors had announced they would investigate whether the parents might be guilty of any negligence if the 10-year-old child was not registered for school or had not been taken to see a doctor in her final months of pregnancy.
