Being pregnant while still having the mirena coil in.

[jomckee]

hi,
I was wondering if anyone has had or knows the answer to my problem, please help if possible.
I found out i was pregnant the other day but i have still have the mirena coil in. this was quite a shock but we have come to terms with it. we have done reserach to try and help us.
i went to the doctors to day she told me that ive got a high chance of a miscarriage if they take the coil out or leave it in. she said i would need a scan to find out were the baby is to ensure the baby is in a safe place.
then she droppped the biggest bomb shell stating i would have to get rid of the baby either way.
please can someone help?

why would you have to get rid of the baby either way? I don't understand that and I'm pretty sure it isn't true either. It is true that your risk of miscarriage is higher with a coil in situ, and your risk of the pregnancy being ectopic is also elevated, which is why you will need a scan.
But if you manage to get the coil safely removed, and the pregnancy does not miscarry, there is no reason why you would have to terminate.

thankyou,
we couldnt understand this either i understand all the risks etc. i honestly dont know why she said i have to get rid of the baby, i wouldnt want to do that. we were planning a baby in a couple of months. it's just happened earlier

Hi jomckee I am currently 37 weeks pregnant, having fallen pregnant with a coil in place (although copper not mirena).

I found out about the pregnancy at 4.5 weeks and, on doctors recommendations, had my coil removed at 5 weeks. I was advised that removing the coil can increase chances of early miscarriage (I think to 1:3 from 1:5, although my memory is a bit hazy) but that leaving the coil in increases chances of problems happening later in pregnancy, problems which can be harmful to mother and baby*. I was also advised that any impacts from removal of the coil in early pregnancy were likely to occur quite soon after coil removal happened.
Had the pregnancy been ectopic, which there is a higher chance of with the coil, I would have been unable to keep the baby but otherwise the decision was up to me. I had scans before coil removal to check position of baby, and a week after to check how baby was coping after removal.
I'm afraid I'm not sure if it's exactly the same with the mirena, as obviously that is hormonal whereas the copper coil isn't - but hope this helps somewhat.

*Although, a friend of mine was conceived whilst her Mum had a coil in place, her Mum found out about the pregnancy 6 months in so had no choice but to keep her coil in and had a healthy pregnancy.

thankyou,
that does help. i have heard plenty of people have had sucessful pregnancy.

hi jomckee
this sounds a terrible situation, certainly get a second opinion and make sure you are 100% happy with how you take this forward. i had a friend who had this situation and she was very lonely dealing with it, none of us knew what to say (god bless MN). Her medical advice was that the chances of miscarriage in the second trimester are significantly higher and the picture was that of doom and gloom, it seems terrible that professionals slant information or even try to tell you what to do, you just need the facts and then you can decide but good that there are stories of hope amdf perhaps more balanced information out there!

Hi Jom
I'm no expert in this but I didn't want to just read and run.... I used to work in the family planning area and have heard stories of babies successfully born with a mirena already in place, in fact, one born holding onto it! I'm keeping fingers crossed that all goes well for you...... Let us know....