Why some newlyweds end up in hospital

Lack of sex education sometimes results in forceful activity that can cause lacerations and tears, say gynaecologists

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Delhi-based gynaecologist Dr Somya Gupta sees about one patient every month with heavy post-coital bleeding but this one case was so bad that the woman actually required a blood transfusion. Gupta took to her Twitter account to highlight this issue, one that doesn’t garner the attention it should because of stigma. “People should understand that what they do in bed can have real consequences,” says Gupta, who works at a government hospital.

Post-coital bleeding can happen for a number of reasons — the most common being the hymen being ruptured as well as vaginal infections and polyps. But in cases where women have heavy bleeding, it is often a tear in the vagina caused by intercourse that is overly forceful or even non-consensual. Most of the patients who come in with this problem are young newlyweds, says Gupta.