Misinformation about contraception on social media may be contributing to Scotland's record high abortion figures, doctors have told the BBC.

The number of terminations carried out in Scotland rose by almost a fifth between 2021 and 2022.

For the first time in 14 years, the number of 16 to 19-year-olds accessing abortion services also increased.

There are concerns this is being driven in part by false and misleading information on apps such as TikTok.

Videos on the platform include false claims about hormonal contraception, such as the pill, the implant, the jab and some types of the coil.

The misinformation online often focuses on side effects.

One TikTok video that has been viewed more than 600,000 times falsely claims hormonal birth control can cause infertility and brain tumours.

Another video posted by an influencer with more than 300,000 followers claims "birth control is this generation's cigarettes" and "ruins our bodies".

Meanwhile the hashtags #naturalbirthcontrol and #quittingbirthcontrol have had hundreds of millions of views.

While the reasons behind Scotland's record high abortion figures are not entirely clear, and a number of different factors are likely to have contributed, doctors have raised concerns about social media misinformation.

Dr Sinead Cook from NHS Grampian is the Scottish chair of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. She is worried this content is influencing decisions about contraception, especially among young people.

Working in a sexual health clinic in the north east of Scotland, she said she had seen patients who were "terrified of hormonal contraception" because of what they had watched on TikTok.

She told BBC Scotland News: "The biggest concern is that social media is encouraging people to either not start contraception or to stop their contraception without really understanding what their other options are.

"The risk is that we're going to just see people having unplanned pregnancies, which they really don't want, at the end of the day."

The numbers of terminations carried out in Scotland rose from 13,937 in 2021 to 16,596 in 2022.

The number of 16 to 19-year-olds accessing abortion services also increased from 1,480 in 2021 to 1,899 in 2022.

Dr Cook said the rise in abortion figures in Scotland were probably the result of a number of factors - not only a fear of hormones.

"I don't think we know why the numbers have gone up," she said. "They've gone up amongst all people of reproductive age, including amongst young people."

She said that when her team talked to patients who did not use contraception and were attending for abortions, many cited concerns about the side effects of contraceptives.

Dr Cook was speaking to a new Disclosure documentary for BBC iPlayer investigating why more women are turning their backs on hormonal birth control.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which provides help and support to women considering or going through abortions, said it was also concerned people were being put off hormonal contraception because of social media.

Lucy Grieve from the charity said that in the past year it had seen a lot of people "scared off" hormonal contraception as a result of information they had seen on apps including TikTok and Instagram.

"That undoubtedly plays a role in the rising abortion figures in Scotland," she said.

The BBC contacted TikTok about some of the videos on its platform that carry misinformation about the side effects of hormonal contraceptives.

TikTok said it had reviewed the content which had been flagged to it and taken down videos that violated its rules on medical misinformation.