Mum who fell pregnant while using a contraceptive coil reveals how it nearly killed her and her baby

Rebecca gave birth to Charlie at 23 weeks – the week before the legal abortion limit – and he weighed the same as a tub of butter.

A mum has spoken movingly of her shock when she realised her tiny baby – born a week before the legal abortion limit – was sharing her womb with a copper contraceptive coil, which nearly killed her and her unborn child.

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Already a mum to Bonnie, eight, care home deputy manager Rebecca Shephard, 27, of Dagenham, Essex, recognised signs of morning sickness, despite having a 10 year copper coil, or IUD fitted – deemed 99 per cent effective.

Although she had taken steps not to fall pregnant, she and her partner, Jack Luckings, 26, who works for his family’s timber business, were both happy to have another baby.

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But things were far from straightforward, after scans showed the coil was too close to the baby in the womb for it to be removed without causing her to miscarry.

Rebecca explained: “My pregnancy was incredibly high-risk and we are so lucky that our son, Charlie, survived against the odds.

“I lost so much blood I had to have blood transfusions and we were told time and time again that I would probably miscarry.”

Not ready to have any more children, Rebecca had the IUD, which works by releasing copper, rather than hormones like other coils, into the womb, fitted after having Bonnie.

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The copper alters the cervical mucus, which makes it more difficult for sperm to reach an egg and survive and can also stop a fertilised egg from being able to implant itself.

And when she met Jack through friends in 2016, while they were happy together it was too soon for them to start trying for children.

But nature stepped in and Rebecca said: “I started to feel sick in the morning and I just knew I was pregnant. I did a test and although it was a surprise, we were really happy. We weren’t planning to have a baby at that point, as I already had Bonnie and Jack is a dad to Ava, six, but it was really exciting.

“I went to my doctor and mentioned the coil. I didn’t know anyone who’d had a coil pregnancy and wanted to know if there were any risks to the baby. My GP wasn’t sure, because it is so rare, so he recommended an early scan at seven weeks.”

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Seeing her baby for the first time, initially Rebecca was told by the sonographer that she could see no sign of the coil, so it had probably fallen out.

But just two weeks later, Rebecca started to bleed heavily for the first time.

Making her way to Queen’s Hospital, Romford, Essex, she lost so much blood that she collapsed in the hospital waiting room – coming to in a hospital bed, with Jack beside her.

“I was terrified,” she said. “I felt awful and I was so worried about the baby. They did another scan and they said that the baby was still alive, but they could see that the coil was dangerously close to him.”

She added: “At that stage, I was offered a termination, but I wanted to give the baby a chance. I wasn’t going to give up hope.”

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Rebecca was told that because of the position of the coil, close to the amniotic sac, there was a 50 per cent chance of her miscarrying and was instructed to rest.

Suffering further bouts of excessive bleeding and being rushed to hospital at 11, 15 and 17 weeks, luckily, each time, the baby was alright.

At 20 weeks, she started to bleed every day and was admitted to hospital to be monitored, where doctors discovered that a blood clot had formed around the coil, meaning she would probably suffer a late miscarriage.

Two weeks later, after a day of light bleeding, Rebecca was allowed a temporary discharge to attend Bonnie’s dance show.

But, as the performance ended, she began to bleed heavily again and this time it was mixed with some amniotic fluid.

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Rushed back to hospital, she was told her waters were leaking, but she was not in active labour.

With such serious complications, Rebecca was offered a termination again – but she refused.

Five days later, after more blood loss, she was given another blood transfusion and told the pregnancy was making her ill.

Still, she refused to abort her baby unless her life was at serious risk.

Stabilised after her transfusion, doctors began to transfer her to the more specialist neonatal intensive care unit at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south west London.

But Rebecca went into labour as she was being transferred and, after just 23 weeks and three days in Rebecca’s womb, little Charlie was born on 17 December 2017, weighing just 1lb 4oz -the same size as a tub of butter.

He spent 116 days in hospital, battling a range of conditions including sepsis – a rare reaction to an infection, causing the body to attack itself,- and breathing difficulties.

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But, eventually, everything turned out well and in April, Rebecca and Jack were able to take Charlie home for the first time.

Rebecca said: “Bringing him home was lovely, but it was hard. He was still on oxygen but he’s such a fighter. He battled his way through all the twists and turns of his neonatal journey and is now slowly coming off oxygen. Charlie weighs 9lb 4oz and is full of fun.”

She added: “We know it might not be the end of the journey but we’re so proud of him.”

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Now, Rebecca is keen to warn other coil users of the possible dangers if they fall pregnant.

She said: “I would never use a coil again. If you have found out you are pregnant whilst on the coil, I would recommend a consultant led pregnancy and regular scans. I think more research needs to be done on IUD pregnancies.”

She continued: “There were so many different opinions among the doctors because no one really knows the best course of action at the moment.

“I was told though that not every IUD pregnancy was as complicated as mine – a lot of the time the coil can be removed or it can be positioned in a place that doesn’t have any problems.”

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Dr Diana Mansour, Vice President for Clinical Quality, Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), said: “This is a rare case of a woman who made a good contraceptive choice but, unfortunately, experienced an unplanned pregnancy.”

She added: “FSRH recommends that women are informed about the very low failure rates associated with intrauterine contraception. If a pregnancy occurs with an intrauterine method in place, the device should be removed if its threads are visible.

“This will reduce the risk of infection inside the womb during that pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage or premature delivery. An ultrasound scan should also be performed to check that the pregnancy is in the womb rather than an ectopic pregnancy that can occur outside the womb.

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“Women should always talk to their GPs, practice nurses or other healthcare professionals at their local contraception and sexual health clinic if problems arise while using any method of contraception.”

For more information about how to get support after a having a premature baby, visit www.bliss.org.uk

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man was sentenced Monday to nearly 3 1/2 years in prison for running an extensive business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States to deliver babies who would automatically have American citizenship.

U.S. authorities had sought a more than five-year prison term for Michael Wei Yueh Liu, 59, who was convicted in September of conspiracy and money laundering for running a company known as USA Happy Baby. Phoebe Dong, Liu's wife — though the couple have since separated — was also convicted in connection with the scheme and is expected to be sentenced early next year.

After receiving a 41-month sentence, Liu was led out of the courtroom by authorities and taken into custody. He gave his attorney his belt and a folder and held Dong's hand briefly while she sobbed.

In court, Liu had pleaded for leniency to care for his elderly parents and 13-year-old son, all of whom depend on him, while about a dozen supporters, many from his church, attended to provide moral support. Liu said his family has suffered deeply for nearly a decade since a 2015 raid on his business.

“My intent was always to uphold the values of integrity and responsibility, so I regret any actions or decisions that may have brought us to this moment of judgment,” Liu told the court during his sentencing hearing. “I have tried my best to remain a source of stability for my family, but my incarceration will place them in a more vulnerable position.”

“I am not here to deflect responsibility, but to seek mercy,” he said.

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner said defendants’ family members are often the ones who suffer, but it is the defendant’s actions, not the court’s, that caused the harm. Nevertheless, Klausner said he was reducing the sentence due to Liu’s family situation.

“These are choices you make, not that the court makes,” Klausner said.

U.S. authorities said USA Happy Baby helped several hundred women travel from China to give birth to U.S.-citizen babies between 2012 and 2015. The tourists paid as much as $40,000 for services including apartment rentals during their stays in Southern California and worked with overseas entities that coached women on what to say during visa interviews and upon arriving in U.S. airports, advising them to wear loose clothing to hide their pregnancies.

“For tens of thousands of dollars each, defendant helped his numerous customers deceive U.S. authorities and buy U.S. citizenship for their children,” federal prosecutors wrote in court papers. “This criminal conduct is serious and requires a meaningful sentence to promote respect for the law and hold defendant accountable.”

Prosecutors declined to comment immediately after the sentencing.

Kevin Cole, Liu’s attorney, had asked that his client face no more than 26 months and requested he be allowed to serve his sentence from home. On Monday, Cole asked the judge to consider his client’s critical role as the caretaker for his 95-year-old father and 82-year-old mother, shuttling them to medical appointments, bathing them and cooking their food, and his otherwise upstanding life growing up in Taiwan — serving in its military, and attending to his family.

“He’s somebody that has lived an honorable life,” Cole told the court. “There’d be no benefit to him or the public for an extensive prison sentence in this case.”

The case against Liu and Dong dates back years. Federal authorities searched more than a dozen homes across Southern California in a 2015 crackdown on operators of businesses catering to Chinese women seeking to deliver their babies in the United States and four years later charged the pair and more than a dozen others, including a woman who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in prison for running a company known as You Win USA.

Such businesses have long operated in California and other states and have catered to people not only from China, but also from Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere. It isn’t illegal to visit the United States while pregnant, but lying to U.S. consular and immigration officials about the reasons for travel on government documents is not permitted.

The key draw for travelers has been that the United States has birthright citizenship, which many believe could help their children secure a U.S. college education and provide a sort of future insurance policy — especially since the tourists themselves can apply for permanent residency once their American child turns 21.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship once in office, but any such effort would face steep legal hurdles.

Federal agents raided about 20 locations, related to a birth tourism scheme, in three Southern California counties, including this apartment complex in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise via AP)

Federal agents raided about 20 locations, related to a birth tourism scheme, in three Southern California counties, including this apartment complex in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise via AP)

Federal agents raided about 20 locations, related to a birth tourism scheme, in three Southern California counties, including this apartment complex in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise via AP)