'It has come as a big shock,' the newspaper quoted a source close to the family as saying. 'She's now being surrounded by expert help. The main thing is that she and the baby are OK.' 'This is the youngest mother I've heard of,' doctor Carol Cooper told The Sun, explaining that the average age a girl begins puberty is 11, although it can be at anytime from 8 to 14. Cooper added that weight has an effect on many hormones, and that as children are heavier than they used to be, puberty is now happening earlier.