Woman Grows Potato in Vagina as Contraception

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.)