Was there any difference in the youngest age the average woman could conceive over the recent millennia? Reading in Shakespeare that "Younger than [14 years old], are happy mothers made," this got me thinking. I had assumed that most cases of pregnancy at a much younger age would be morbid, perhaps even life-threatening. Is it possible that over a mere 500 years there has been evolution in this?

young girls can still get pregnant, it is more risky and more likely to lead to complications though. and people giving birth way way back were pretty likley to snuff it during labour anyway.

 

recently there was an 11year old in th UK who got pregnant(IIRC it was a caesarian delivery) and the youngest person in recorded history was 4year old(she had some unusal condition that caused puberty early) pretty sure that must have also been a caesarian deivery.

 

it is likely if they hadn't had modern help they'd have died. definitely the 4 year old, the 11 year old might have survived but it wouldn't have been pleasant.

 

these days(and even back in ye olde days to an extent) it is social pressures that prevent it rather than a physiological impossibility. the social pressures origionally arose due to the fact that if it does happen, the younger, the more likley to die during child birth.

 

all issues of the rest of the problems of paedophillia aside of course.