Mom happy that her daughter, 10, gave birth

MADRID - A Romanian gypsy woman says she is delighted to be a grandmother after her 10-year-old daughter gave birth to a baby girl in Spain, a media report said.

Olimpia says she doesn’t understand why the birth has shocked everyone and become an international sensation.

She said Romanian gypsy customs allow girls to marry young although it is against the country’s law.

She told reporters that the baby’s father is a 13-year-old boy who broke up with her daughter and lives in Romania, China Daily reported Wednesday.

The Spanish authorities have not divulged details about the case to protect the girl’s privacy.

The girl, who lives with her mother in Lebrija town, plans to stay in the country with her daughter.

The girl moved to Spain about three weeks ago and gave birth at a hospital last week. There was no complication during the birth, the mother said.

The story has, meanwhile, generated a lot of attention. “Mother at 10 years old” blared a headline in Barcelona’s La Vanguardia newspaper which dedicated two pages to the story.

The El Pais daily said the prosecutors had announced to probe if the parents are guilty of any negligence in the care of the 10-year-old child.

“The case is shocking,” said Maria Luisa Cava del Llano, Spain’s ombudswoman.

Under Spanish law, having consensual sex with someone under age 13 is considered as child abuse.

A justice ministry official said the case is complicated as the alleged father is a minor and doesn’t live in Spain. It’s not clear if he could be charged, the official added requesting anonymity.

Romanian law allows girls to get married at age 16 with parental consent, or at 18 without it.