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.