Wednesday, September 27, 2006

12-year-old Russian girl gives birth to second baby

“Well, it happened by accident, so I had to give birth to my child,” says Bashtam Gorbunenko as she shrugs her shoulders. Bashtam lives in the village of Komsomolsky, in the Volgograd region. She turned 12 in February.

Bashtam gave birth to a baby boy several days ago. It is her second child, she gave birth to her first-born son Mitya a year ago. Bashtam was 11 at the time.

Bashtam and her partner, Mikhail, 21, cannot go to a registry office and have their relationship officially registered because she is far too underage. Mikhail is the father of both offspring. Nevertheless, they live together. Bashtam and Mikhail happen to share the surname despite being members of the only two Gypsy families in the village. The Gypsies are known for their common family names.

Mikhail took the news about Bashtam’s second pregnancy for granted. Disregarding the Gypsy tradition which forbids the father to partake in care of a baby, he promised support and help to Bashtam.

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