Aqtobe Region: 14-Year-Old Schoolgirl Gave Birth, Step-grandfather Named as Suspect

In the Aqtobe region, a 14-year-old schoolgirl went into labor while in class. It was only at the hospital that doctors realized she was 39 weeks pregnant. There was no pediatric gynecologist available, and local doctors assisted with the delivery.

Orda.kz journalists visited the Oiyl district to learn how neither doctors, teachers, nor the girl’s mother noticed the pregnancy.

My Stomach Hurts

On Monday, October 13, a ninth-grader came to class as usual. During the lesson, she began to feel strong abdominal pain. The discomfort grew worse, and she started crying, telling teachers that her stomach hurt. The school called her mother, and together they went to the district hospital.

During the examination, doctors noticed her abdomen was distended and initially suspected an abdominal tumor.

After further examination, the true cause became clear — the schoolgirl was pregnant and already in labor. The doctors were shocked, and the teachers and mother were stunned.

At 5:25 PM, the teenager gave birth to a boy weighing 2,770 grams. According to the Oiyl District Hospital, both mother and baby are in stable condition.

She's still a child herself. When they brought her here, no one even thought she was pregnant. She was crying, clutching her stomach. She kept saying, 'It hurts so much.' We later explained, 'You have a baby in your belly, listen to us.' It was too late to send her back to the city, as labor had already begun and she was fully dilated,
 said hospital employee Aigul Mailybayeva.

Questions Answered

The girl had undergone a medical examination at the same hospital about six months earlier. Could doctors have missed the pregnancy? Orda.kz asked Chief Physician Sandibek Nurbayev for an explanation.

She had a routine medical checkup on March 13th. There were no abnormalities in her test results. She had no complaints. In May and July, she received certificates for camp and clubs. They stated that she had no infectious diseases. She didn't look pregnant at all,
 the head physician said in an interview.

The girl also passed another medical checkup in May for summer camp, and again in September for health reasons.

Even less than a month before her due date, the pregnancy remained undetected.

Nothing Strange

Teachers from her rural school said the girl wore loose clothing. She participated in gym classes, jumped and ran, and even performed at a concert.

The school principal explained that the student comes from a single-parent family. Her parents divorced in 2021. For three years, she lived with her father, until last summer when her mother received housing from the local administration and took her daughter back.

When the children lived with their father, their mother neglected them. She was in Aqtobe and other places. Last August, the woman took the three children and asked for a place to live. They gave her a house, and everything was well-appointed. On September 10th, the girl went to the school nurse, complaining of nausea and saying she'd eaten something fatty. The nurse asked about her period. She replied that everything was fine. The nurse advised her to see a doctor, but the mother assumed her daughter simply had a sore throat. The girl walked to a neighboring village every day to pick apples. If she'd known she was pregnant, she would have hidden and skipped classes. But she behaved normally,
 the school principal said.

This is the first such case reported in the Oiyl District. Education officials have begun an internal review to determine whether the school failed to notice signs of the pregnancy.

Step-Grandfather — Suspected Father

The family of the teenage mother had recently moved to the village of Oiyl, settling into a new home provided after the spring floods.

Neighbors describe the girl as active and friendly.

The mother is single, and the daughter is lively and cheerful. We didn't notice anything unusual about her. It all came as a shock to us,
 said a neighbor.

The girl lived with her mother, grandmother, and step-grandfather, who is now suspected of sexual abuse. The 64-year-old man has been detained, though the specific charges have not been disclosed. Investigators are determining the circumstances.

The akim of the Oiyl district, Askar Kazibayev, provided a few details about the suspect:

We know this family well. The woman arrived after the flood. She was on the housing list. She was given a new house by the state. The suspect is also from Oiyl. He recently had surgery and had been ill. No one expected this from him. This is the first case in our area. Everyone is in shock,
 the official said.

The teenage mother remains under medical observation, and psychologists are working with her. The education department has pledged to strengthen preventive measures against teenage pregnancy.

Next week, officials in the Oiyl District plan to hold a seminar titled “Raising a Child.”

The Orda.kz team attempted to contact the schoolgirl’s mother and grandmother, but their house was empty. A lock hung on the door.

Original Author: Ardak Yerubayeva