There is usually an increase in abortions after Valentine’s Day, a time when couples often get carried away by passion, gynecologists said yesterday, reminding lovers to use contraception to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
Taipei City Hospital gynecologist Lin Tzu-yin said that about 10 percent more women come to her for emergency contraception and abortion consultations between this month and next month compared with other months.
The abortion peak is similar to another in September, when the summer holiday finishes and reality kicks in for students, she said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yih, Taipei Times
Another gynecologist at Chung Shan Hospital said Valentine’s Day was not the only occasion that causes a spike in abortions.
“Kids nowadays have sex whenever there is a special event,” Lee Shy-mine (李世明) said.
Thanks to convenient access to the morning-after pill through pharmacies, Lee said, his workload had decreased significantly in recent years.
However, he said couples should have health checks before choosing the contraceptive method that best suits them.
As an example, he said that while birth control pills are the most common form of contraception in Taiwan, scientific studies have shown that female smokers on the pill are at an increased risk of developing blood clots.
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