BANGKOK - Every day roughly 370 teenage girls give birth to unplanned babies in Thailand, some under 15 years old, according to a study by the Bureau of Epidemiology.
The study also concluded that each day about 10 girls under 15 give birth to a child.
The study, conducted from 2008 to 2011, involved students in grades 8 and 11 and second year vocational students.
Deputy Public Health Minister Chonlanan Srikaew said on Wednesday that teenagers these days become sexually active at a very young age and younger teens might lack knowledge about sex, which can lead to unplanned pregnancy.
Most youngsters were having sex by the age of 15, and 45% of them did not use condoms, he said
Statistics showed that 53% of abortions involved girls in their teens and 80% of teenagers who fall pregnant were not ready to have a child, it was unplanned.
"The Ministry of Public health is cooperating with related networks to encourage young people to not have a child until they can support it, and is providing support for schools to better educate teenagers about sex,” said Dr Chonlanan.