Woman has baby despite being on coil which came out when she gave birth

A mother who fell pregnant despite being on the coil has revealed how her surprise baby was born with the device tucked under her armpit.

Evelynn Crouse, 26, had the ParaGard IUD contraceptive fitted in 2016 after having her fifth child.

But she later started to have stomach cramps and, after realising she had not had a period in over two months, decided to take a pregnancy test.

Doctors were unable to remove her coil as it risked causing a miscarriage, she said. But her waters broke at 23 weeks when the device pricked her amniotic sac.

Evelynn, from Titusville in Florida, US, said: ‘I bent over outside to pick up some rubbish and didn’t feel anything then, but about an hour and a half later, water poured everywhere all over the kitchen floor.

‘With all my other pregnancies, the doctors had had to pop my waters in the hospital when I was in labour, so I’d never really experienced them breaking.

‘I got sent to a specialist pregnancy hospital where they pumped me full of antibiotics for a week before I gave birth to Ava at 24 weeks.

‘When they pulled her out, the IUD was tucked under her armpit.’

Baby Ava was born weighing just 1lb 13oz, a fifth of the average newborn’s weight, and her eyes remained fused shut for two weeks.

She had to undergo heart surgery to repair missing skin between her arteries, which were causing her lungs to fill with blood.

‘We still don’t know how long it will be before we get to take her home, but everyday she’s with us is a blessing and we will wait as long as it takes to make sure she’s safe.

‘She really is my little miracle.’

Evelynn and her husband Justin, 31, are also parents to Alyssia, 12, Andrew, 11, Mason and Madeline, both six, and Lillie Ann, three.

ParaGard is an IUD made of copper and plastic that is fitted into the uterus to provide up to 10 years’ pregnancy prevention.

According to the ParaGard website, pregnancy with ParaGard is ‘uncommon but can be life-threatening and may cause infertility or loss of pregnancy’.

The website claims that ‘ParaGard is over 99% effective at preventing pregnancy and one of the most effective methods of birth control available.’