Udon Thani educator cites pregnancy involving nine-year-old

A health educator in Udon Thani has said the youngest pregnancy recorded in the province involved a nine-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy.

Sukanya Kanawapi of Health Centre 8 raised the case during a sexual health session for 350 first-year science students at Udon Thani Rajabhat University. The event was organised by the Udon Thani Provincial Public Health Office.

Sukanya said she had monitored teenage pregnancy in the region for more than a decade. She said the nine-year-old told officials she had deliberately become pregnant because she believed having a child would strengthen her relationship with her boyfriend and allow the pair to raise a child together.

She gave no details on when the case happened or whether anybody faced prosecution.

Session followed reported dormitory case

The discussion, titled "Safe Love Smart Life", covered sexual activity, relationships, contraception and pregnancy.

It followed a recent reported case involving a university student who suffered a miscarriage in a dormitory bathroom before taking the dead baby to a temple for a funeral.

Sukanya said teenage and unwanted pregnancies remain a global concern monitored by the World Health Organisation. A figure cited during the session put Thailand's rate at 21 births for every 1,000 teenage girls, compared with a benchmark of no more than 10 per 1,000 in developed countries.

WHO defines the adolescent birth rate as the yearly number of births per 1,000 girls in a specified adolescent age group. Its recent data put Thailand's birth rate among girls aged 15 to 19 at 18 per 1,000 in 2022.

She said early pregnancy can affect more than a young mother's health, bringing extra family costs, disrupting education and reducing later opportunities for work and income.

What Thai law says

Sukanya noted that sexual activity involving a child under 15 is an offence under Thai law, whether or not the child is said to have consented.

The educator also outlined the country's abortion rules. Department of Health guidance states that abortion may be obtained up to 12 weeks without criminal liability. Between more than 12 weeks and up to 20 weeks, termination is available following examination and counselling.

Termination may also be permitted in certain cases of medical necessity, subject to conditions under Section 305 of the Criminal Code.

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26 September 2026