Doctors see all sorts of things when dealing with patients and it takes a lot to surprise them, but this obstetrician in Vietnam couldn’t help but take a photo of a baby she delivered when he came out holding a curious object in his hand.
Born in the Hai Phong International Hospital in Hai Phong, Northern Vietnam, the baby boy was kicking and screaming with his mother’s IUD (intrauterine device) in hand.
Amazed, Dr. Tran Viet Phuong captured the moment and posted the photos on Facebook on Tuesday, June 30. In the photos, the baby boy is seen holding a black and yellow contraceptive coil. The post has since received over 3,500 likes and more than 4,000 shares as of press time.
“After delivery, I thought him holding the device was interesting, so I took a picture. I never thought it would receive so much attention,” Dr. Phuong told local media.
According to Yahoo News, the baby’s 34-year-old mother got the IUD two years ago. Obviously, it probably fell out, which led to the pregnancy.
IUDs are t-shaped birth control devices that are inserted into the uterus. According to Planned Parenthood, IUDs are more than 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancies because there is virtually no chance of people misusing or forgetting them, unlike condoms or birth control pills. However, accidentally conceiving due to a failed IUD could be dangerous because it could lead to an ectopic pregnancy, or one that occurs outside the uterus. Sometimes, ectopic pregnancies form in the fallopian tubes, which could then cause the tubes to burst and lead to life-threatening bleeding.
The new mother in Vietnam, however, had a safe pregnancy and now has a new baby boy weighing 3.2kg. He joins his two other siblings.
Netizens shared their congratulations after the photos of her baby went viral. Of course, the irony of a baby coming out of the womb holding a contraceptive was not lost on them.
Ah, the ironies of life.
Correction 07/09/20: A previous version of this article stated that ectopic pregnancies could cause the IUD's tubes to burst. This was a typo and the sentence has been corrected to pertain to the fallopian tubes.
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This article originally appeared on VICE ASIA.
