11-year-old gives birth at home, parents charged, grandmother claims ‘no one knew’ she was pregnant

An 11-year-old girl in the United States has given birth at home, leading to charges of child neglect against her parents.

The child’s grandmother, who lives with the family in Oklahoma, told a local news station that no one knew the girl was 36 weeks pregnant, according to court documents reviewed by WDBJ.

The girl and her five younger siblings have since been removed from the home, with her parents held on $100,000 bonds each.

Assistant District Attorney Janet Hutson said the case came to light after the girl was taken to hospital following an unattended birth on August 16.

Court filings show the girl hadn’t seen a doctor in over a year and had no prenatal care. Her parents claim they had no idea she was pregnant.

“The guardians are currently in the Muskogee County Jail,” Ms Hutson said, adding more charges are expected.

“I was horror-stricken to find out it’s an 11-year-old little girl who’s given birth… she had no medical care, and she had no one to be with her.”

“This child is traumatised,” Ms Hutson said. “Not only has somebody gotten her pregnant, but she gave birth at home without medical assistance, and this will be her life for the rest of her life.”

A neighbour reported the home lacked running water for two or three years despite six children and dogs living there, and said she regularly called authorities to check on the children. She said, “This is getting to me. They robbed her of her childhood.”

The grandmother, Michelle, disputed the claims, saying no one knew about the pregnancy.

“I just want people to know, we did not know this was happening. None of us,” she said.“They’ve made my daughter and my son-in-law a monster. They are not. They love those children. They love them.”

Regarding the home’s condition, Michelle said, “We have animals, and so sometimes there’s trash on the floor because the dogs get into the trash. It gets cleaned up.”

“Right now, it’s probably a mess because the animals are in there. We try to let them out, but they try to keep it clean.”

Michelle said the baby’s father is a “12-year-old that I used to babysit. She keeps telling everybody that it was him. They got curious. That’s all I know.”

Speaking to KOTV, Ms Hutson noted the girl was home-schooled, which limited reports by schools or doctors about her condition.

“The child had been out of school for a period of time,” she said.

She also expressed doubts about the claim that the family was unaware of the pregnancy, noting the girl gave birth to a normal-sized infant, even though she was “rather petite.”

A paternity test is reportedly underway to find out who the baby’s father is.

Young people seeking support can phone beyondblue on 1300 22 4636 or go to headspace.org.au.