You will never look at the humble jacket potato the same again (Picture: Getty Images) 
 
 A Colombian woman complaining of abdominal pains shocked doctors when the cause of her ailment was revealed – she’d used a potato as a form of contraception. 
 
 The problems started after the vegetable sprouted roots that had started to grow inside the 22-year-old’s reproductive organs. 
 
 The unnamed woman told medics: ‘My mum told me that if I didn’t want to get pregnant, I should put a potato up there. I believed her.’ 
 
 Luckily for the young woman, she will not suffer any lasting effects and the spud’s removal did not require any surgery. 
 
 This highlights the serious issue concerning the youth of Colombia, who are rejecting conventional contraceptive methods such as condoms which has lead to unwanted teen pregnancies and widespread unsafe sex. 
 
 While sex education has been compulsory in Colombian schools since the 1990s, many parents have rejected such teachings – leading to a cultural taboo regarding the discussion of sex, let alone how to go about it safely. 

 A young woman has learned the hard way that a potato does not provide adequate contraception. 
 
 Nope, not by getting pregnant, but by having the vegetable germinate and grow roots inside her vagina. 
 
 That’s according to Colombia Reports, which writes the 22-year-old was admitted to hospital complaining of severe abdominal pains. 
 
 Do not put these inside you. OK? 
 
 The unnamed patient is quoted as saying: “My mom told me that if I didn’t want to get pregnant, I should put a potato up there, and I believed her.” 
 
 The newspaper adds upon examination of the woman, roots were found to be emerging from her vagina. 
 
 (We’ll take this one with a pinch of salt, but as dubious as it sounds, it is worth pointing out a dark, moist vagina would probably be an ideal place for a potato to germinate in... right?) 
 
 As well as being utterly vile, it highlights the very serious issue of a 22-year-old reportedly being naïve enough to believe such tripe. 
 
 Photo galleryContraception Myths Explained See Gallery Woman 'Inserts Potato Into Vagina As Contraceptive, Is Hospitalised After It Grows Roots' 1/ 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contraception Myths Explained 1/ 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The channel writes: “A recent campaign by Bienestar Familiar (ICBF) aimed at reducing the high levels of teenage pregnancy in Colombia stated that young people’s general rejection of conventional contraception methods, such as condoms and contraceptive pills, coupled with a macho society which often saw girls pressured into having unsafe sex, contributed to a high level of unwanted teenage pregnancies.” 
 
 And if you thought using a potato as a contraceptive was weird, unlikely, and solely limited to far flung corners of the world like Honda, Colombia, consider the fact that a recent survey of 1,500 British women aged 25-34 by Bayer Healthcare found some people are using cling film, sandwich bags and latex gloves as contraception. 
 
 Other alarming findings included that one in ten women believed it was impossible to get pregnant during your period, while 30% had needed to take the morning after pill. 
 
 The findings highlighted the need for better communication between GPs and young female patients. According to the results only 58% had fully explored all of the contraceptive options with their doctor. 
 
 People, please do not use potatoes, sandwich bags, cling film or latex gloves as contraceptives.
– A 22-year-old Colombia woman who went to the doctor with abdominal pains turned out to have a potato growing in her vagina—because she'd put it there as contraception, says Colombia Reports via Metro. "My mom told me that if I didn’t want to get pregnant, I should put a potato up there, and I believed her," the woman was quoted as telling a local website. The embarrassed patient, from the central Colombian town of Honda, says she had inserted the potato about two weeks before the pain struck in her lower abdomen. Upon closer inspection, attending nurse Carolina Rojas found potato roots sticking out of the woman's vagina and even growing inside her. Luckily the potato was removed without surgery, and medical staff predicted no long-term physical effects, but Rojas blamed the mother for giving her daughter such bad advice. The story is part of an ongoing battle over birth control and sex education in Colombia, where activists say a macho culture and disinterest in common birth control methods have led to high teen pregnancy rates. Indeed, sex ed classes introduced in the 1990s inspired some parents to start groups opposing the lessons. But Colombia isn't alone in trying odd birth-control methods, the Huffington Post reports: A survey of young British woman found that some used plastic wrap, latex gloves, and sandwich bags. (Read about a birth control shot designed for guys.)