REQUESTS for the morning after contraceptive pill doubled in Dublin's main family planning centres following St Valentine's Day and the rugby international weekend.
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) and the Well Woman Centre said demand for the contraceptive surged by about 50 per cent at their centres last Saturday and Monday.
All six centres worked at maximum capacity on both days. The Well Woman Centre said demand was so high that it had to refer women to other family planning centres on Saturday.
A boost in requests for the morning after or post coital pill following major sporting or music events is "fairly normal," according to the IFPA and the Well Woman Centre.
"I suppose last weekend was compounded by the rugby and Valentine's Day coming so close together. In general, after any large cultural activity the birth rate goes up and the demand for post coital pills goes up," said the chief executive of the Well Woman Centre, Ms Ann Broekhoven.
The IFPA's chief executive, Mr Tony O'Brien, said this pattern, was not, however, usually associated with large GAA events.
The morning after pill can be taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse but is at its most effective if taken between 12 and 60 hours. The treatment is a very high dose of the regular contraceptive pill, which prevents the fertilised egg from implanting.
Fewer than three in 100 women per year who use the morning after pill become pregnant, provided it is not lost through vomiting.
The dosage is four pills. Two are taken together at first, and the others at prescribed intervals.
Mr O'Brien said demand for the morning after pill was up 50 per cent on the usual Saturday in its centres at The Square in Tallaght Synge Street and Cathal Brugha Street. He attributed this rush to St Valentine's night on Friday.
A total of 40 morning after pills were prescribed on Monday in the IFPA's three clinics, 50 per cent higher than the normal Monday rate.
The Well Woman Centre said demand was also up by an average of 50 per cent on Saturday at its three Dublin outlets in Leeson Street, Liffey Street and the Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock. In the Leeson Street centre, 18 people requested the morning after pill, a 40 per cent increase on a normal Saturday.
On Monday, 41 people requested the morning after pill at Leeson Street, a 60 per cent increase on a normal Monday. Demand for the treatment on, Monday was up by 43 per cent in the Liffey Street centre and 40 per cent in the Coolock centre.
The IFPA and the Well Woman Centre cautioned that the morning after pill does not protect against sexually transmitted infections.
"We would recommend that people would take a more proactive approach to family planning and look after themselves prior to the sexual encounter rather than after. But if they do find themselves in that situation, then we would recommend it," said Ms Broekhoven.
She added that the Well Woman Centre had expected an "enormous problem" when the aircraft carrier, USS John F Kennedy, came to Dublin last July with 5,200 sailors on board.
"The problem didn't arise at all. Maybe the sailors were well prepared," she said.