Bulgarian Girl, 11, Gives Birth to Her Daughter... on Her Wedding Day

The Daily Mail

An 11-year-old girl became one of the world's youngest mothers - and went into labour on the way to her wedding.

Kordeza Zhelyazkova, from Sliven in Bulgaria, was still wearing her wedding dress and tiara as she was rushed to hospital, where she gave birth to 5lb 8oz Violeta.

Proudly displaying her baby, she told reporters: 'I'm not going to play with toys any more - I have a new toy now.'

Kordeza - who fell pregnant within two weeks of her 11th birthday - spent the night in hospital with Violeta and then headed back to church for her wedding with 19-year-old Jeliazko Dimitrov.

Kordeza told the News of the World: 'It feels strange to be a mum and have a baby.

'I used to play with my toys but now she is my new toy.

'She is so beautiful, I love her. Violeta is the child and I must grow up. I am not going back to school - I am a mother now.'

The couple met when Jeliazko rescued Kordeza from bullies in the playground.

However he now faces six years in jail for having sex with a minor, telling the paper his fears when he found out Kordeza was pregnant.

He said: 'I was really scared.

'We didn't plan to have sex or a baby although I fell in love with Kordeza the moment I saw her.

He added: 'I was walking past the school when I saw some boys mocking her and I told them to leave her alone.

'Then she arranged to meet me and asked me out on our first date. I thought she was 15. She didn't tell me she was 11.'

Kordeza added: 'I didn't want to say in case he wouldn't fancy me.'

Their daughter was conceived within a week of their meeting.

Kordeza said: 'I didn't know I was pregnant until my grandmother saw I had put on weight. I just thought I'd eaten too many burgers.'

Her grandmother Dida, 55, said: 'It's normal for our girls to have babies young. It's our tradition. But I didn't want it for my Kordeza - I felt she was too young.'

The family planned a three-day Roma wedding for October 22 - so Kordeza and Jeliazko could be married before the baby was born.

But Kordeza went into labour a week early, on the second day of the ceremony.

She said: 'I had been having pain in the morning and a couple of hours into the wedding it got worse.'

She was rushed to hospital and gave birth 20 minutes later.

Kordeza said: 'It was quite easy but painful too. I was very happy when I saw her. She has a nose like me and hair like Jeliazko.'

Both grandmothers will be guardians of baby Violeta, and Kordeza and her daughter will receive £70 a month in state benefits.

The age of consent in Bulgaria is 14.

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