Mum falls pregnant while using the coil and finds it lodged in her placenta

Claire Cowen had to go for scans every four weeks to check her baby had not moved in a dangerous position with the coil (Picture: SWNS)

A mum who ‘miraculously’ fell pregnant while using the coil was shocked to find the IUD in her baby’s placenta.

Claire Cowen, 34, had been using a non-hormonal coil for three years when she discovered she was 13 weeks’ pregnant with her baby boy, Lewis. She then underwent a stressful pregnancy as doctors told her she had no choice but to ‘wait and see’ if her coil would harm her baby. 

The mum-of-three, from Midlothian, Scotland, could not have the contraceptive device removed because it was tilted above her cervix, and could accidentally rupture the baby’s amniotic sac if it was moved around.

Medics warned her that Lewis may not survive if the coil worked its way into the sac. She therefore underwent scans every four weeks to make sure the baby had not moved. 

Ms Cowen, a social worker, said: ‘All the stories I could find were about women losing babies when they fell pregnant with the coil.

‘It didn’t fill me with hope but I remained positive’. 

Ms Cowen was closely monitored during her pregnancy but doctors couldn’t guarantee her baby would survive if the coil worked its way into the sac (Picture: SWNS)

A nurse spotted that the coil had embedded itself into Ms Cowen’s placenta (Picture: SWNS)

She went on:  ‘It was the most stressful, scary few months of my life. We had no idea how it would go or if my little boy would survive. But thankfully Lewis had arrived safely – he’s my little miracle.’

Fortunately, Ms Cowen’s coil had embedded in her placenta and the nurse spotted it after her son was born.

The non-hormonal IUD stops people from getting pregnant because it is made of copper which kills semen. 

It is 99% effective at preventing contraception, meaning it is still possible, although extremely rare, to fall pregnant while using it. 

Besides all the possible complications the coil could have brought, little Lewis was born healthily (Picture: SWNS)

The mum-of-three said she read many stories about people losing their babies because of the coil (Picture: SWNS)

IUD pregnancies are more likely to be ectopic, which means they happen outside of the womb and sometimes in the fallopian tubes. 

This can be extremely dangerous, often life-threatening, to both the pregnant person and the baby.

Anyone using a coil that has spotted any signs that they might be pregnant should see a medical professional immediately.

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