As the obstetrician checked the baby, he noticed something unusual in the infant’s hand. At first glance it looked like a foreign object — small, rigid, metallic and plastic in structure.
The baby was gripping an intrauterine device — an IUD.
The very device his mother had chosen years earlier specifically to prevent pregnancy.
The room fell completely silent. Even the sound of the baby’s cry seemed to soften as the weight of the moment landed on everyone present.
Obstetrician Dr. Trần Việt Phương, who had delivered hundreds of babies across his career, later said that despite all his years of medical experience, he had never witnessed something so surreal and symbolic.
The IUD, which was expected to remain in the uterus to block fertilization, had been expelled at some point during the pregnancy — and by a twist of fate, the newborn emerged holding it in his tiny fist.
Dr. Phương gently pried the device from the baby’s hand, ensuring no discomfort or injury.
He took a photo for medical documentation — but also because he recognized the extraordinary nature of what he was witnessing.
He later emphasized that photographing such moments helps hospitals understand rare cases and educate others, especially when devices fail in unexpected ways.
She had trusted the device to prevent another pregnancy. She never imagined that she would conceive again, let alone carry a healthy pregnancy to term with the device still present in her womb.
Yet here her son was — alive, strong, and symbolically holding the very object designed to prevent his existence.
When the hospital provided an explanation, they confirmed an important medical truth: IUDs are highly effective, but no contraceptive method is flawless.
In rare situations, the device can shift, become displaced, or fail to remain in the correct position.
Such cases are uncommon, but they do happen — and this newborn’s arrival was a striking example of nature overcoming medical probability.
But beyond the scientific explanation, there was a deeper emotional meaning that everyone in the room felt.
Once the initial shock faded, the delivery room was filled with an almost reverent stillness. Nurses exchanged quiet glances.
