Udon Thani Tackles Alarming Trend of Child Pregnancies

A 9-year-old girl was the youngest reported mother in Udon Thani, while the father of her child was 13 years old, according to an official from Health Promotion Center 8. The case was highlighted during a Safe Love Smart Life workshop at Udon Thani Rajabhat University on 23 September, following another incident involving a fourth-year student who miscarried in her dormitory.

The official noted that the girl had intentionally become pregnant in an attempt to maintain her relationship with her boyfriend. The university organised the workshop for 350 first-year students from its Faculty of Science to provide information on teenage pregnancy prevention and help students develop skills to deal with potentially risky situations.

The programme included information on teenage pregnancy in Udon Thani, adolescent health services and the Referral System for Safe Abortion network. Sukanya Kanawapi of Health Promotion Center 8 said she had followed teenage pregnancy trends for more than a decade and noted it was a global issue monitored by the World Health Organization.

Udon Thani has seen a decline in births among mothers aged 10-14, dropping from 20 cases in 2023 to six cases in 2026, with this age group accounting for about 20% of teenage mothers in the province. Counselling services found that young people often worry more about their parents discovering their sexual activity than about the possibility of pregnancy itself.

Data presented at the workshop showed that among students who sought advice about unintended pregnancy, 55.3% said they had sex without intending to do so, while another 20.5% reported having sex while intoxicated. The data also revealed that 64.5% of pregnancies were unintended, while 35.6% were intentional.

Teenage pregnancy can affect education, employment prospects, future income, family relationships and financial responsibilities. Health Promotion Center 8 provides confidential counselling both in person and online, and offers information on abortion services for pregnancies up to 12 weeks under applicable rules, with exceptions for cases involving medical considerations or pregnancy from sexual violence.

The university said the workshop was intended to strengthen students' knowledge and decision-making skills in response to growing public attention to teenage pregnancy issues.