The girl, a member of the northern indigenous Wayuu tribe in the La Guajira Peninsula, was 39 weeks pregnant and almost died when she had a caesarean section.
Reports indicate it was the first time the girl, from the town of Manaure, had visited a doctor in connection with her pregnancy.
She reportedly arrived at the hospital bleeding, in floods of tears and ‘enormous’ pain from her contractions.
It was decided to carry out the caesarean section because of the girl’s age.
Mother and daughter are said to both be doing fine, despite the young mum refusing to breastfeed the new-born baby.
It is unclear who the father of the baby is, with some speculating it is a 15-year-old boy, and others claiming a man of 30.
Questions have also arisen of prosecuting the father for underage sex, however constitutional laws guarantee the Wayuu a certain amount of autonomy.
It allows the tribe to maintain certain cultural heritages, of which one is said to be the giving birth of children at an extremely young age.
The case has led to criticism from the director of the hospital where the young girl gave birth.
Efrain Pacheco Casadiego told RCN La Radio: “We’ve already seen similar cases of Wayuu girls.
At a time when (the girls) should be playing with dolls, they go to having to take care of a baby. It’s shocking.
But Alejandro Samplayo, director of parenthood organisation Instituto Colombiano Bienestar Familiar, referred to the tribe’s culture.
“Since it’s a Wayuu girl we are trying to respect all of their rights since they have autonomy and their own jurisdiction.”
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