A mum has shared a photo of her newborn baby son holding the contraceptive device he shared a womb with.
Lucy Hellein, from Alabama, US, had become pregnant three weeks after having the Mirena brand intrauterine birth control device (IUD) fitted.
When she gave birth to her son at 8.40am on 27 April via caesarean section, the IUD was found behind her placenta.
So a nurse placed the IUD in Hellein’s son’s hand for the comedic shot of baby Dexter Tyler below, which Hellein shared on Facebook with the caption: “Mirena fail! “
The photo quickly went viral, amassing more than 70,000 shares in less than a week, as people speculated whether baby Dexter had been born holding the IUD.
Hellein confirmed to First Coast News, that her son was not born holding the contraceptive device.
She explained that her doctors had been unable to remove the implant during her pregnancy and they believed it may have fallen out by itself before they discovered it behind her placenta.
“[Dexter’s] original due date, which is 4 May, is known as Star Wars Day,” she said. “So, the doctor was like, ‘the force is strong with this one.’”
Hellein added that she feels very blessed to have her son.
According to the Mirena information leaflet the possibility of becoming pregnant is approximately 2 in 1,000 in the first year of getting the device fitted.
HuffPost UK has contacted Mirena for comment.