You may have seen the photo that’s gone viral on Facebook of a newborn clutching an IUD in his hands.
While the mother of that baby says the nurse placed the IUD in his hand after he was born, KVUE found out from an Austin doctor that it is possible for a baby to grab it on their own.
"They do happen,” said Ob/Gyn Dr. Jennifer Mushtaler. "I did have a baby during my residency who was born holding the IUD at delivery."
It’s an extremely rare occurrence for a baby to be born at all while the mother has an IUD. The IUD is considered by medical professionals to be the most effective form of reversible birth control.
"It’s greater than 99.7 percent effective,” said Mushtaler.
One Central Texas mother who also defied the odds is Teresa Stover. Seven years ago, she went to the doctor after experiencing what she thought were migraines.
The doctor ordered a sonogram to make sure the IUD was in place and what they found was shocking, to say the least.
"We found the IUD perfectly in place looking good...and then there was also a baby in there, moving like little babies do,” said Stover.
Since Stover was also breastfeeding her toddler at the time and taking a low-dose estrogen pill, doctors told her the IUD pregnancy defeated 1 in 6 million odds.
Nine months later, Rosemary Stover was born. Doctors found the IUD in the placenta.
"She (the doctor) said it was clean as the day she put it in,” said Stover.
During the pregnancy they were concerned the IUD would get stuck to the baby’s limbs. As for hormones in the IUD, Dr. Mushtaler says it should not be a cause for concern.
"Because it doesn't have a lot of hormones, if a pregnancy does actually take place the IUD can remain in the uterus and it won't cause any harm or damage to the pregnancy."
Mushtaler says while abstinence is the only method to avoid pregnancy 100 percent, the IUD is still extremely effective and cases like this are very rare.