Woman suffers miscarriage after doctor missed pregnancy during IUD appointment

Holding an IUD birth control copper coil device in hand, used for contraception - front view (iStock)

A UK woman who didn't know she was pregnant lost her unborn child after a doctor who didn't check for pregnancy fitted her with an IUD contraceptive coil, the Sun reports.

The mother of three was seven weeks' pregnant when her doctor inserted a Mirena coil in 2012. Three months later, the woman began to miscarry during a family trip to Disneyland Paris, the Express reports.

She returned to Britain and labor was induced. She gave birth to a stillborn baby and later needed emergency surgery to remove the placenta, per the Sun.

Dr. Bhaskar Bora, 41, faces misconduct charges for failing to conduct a proper examination before inserting the coil. The woman, who is in her 30s and was not identified, told a medical tribunal on Wednesday that she went to see Bora in August 2011 when she was experiencing an extended period and severe pains.

She says Bora asked her "if I had any stress in my life" and "if I ate spicy food," but didn't ask for her medical history.

She never heard back after an ultrasound. She returned in March 2012 with heavy bleeding, and Bora told her she suffered from fibroids and suggested she try the coil to stop the bleeding.

She says he never asked if she was pregnant. The bleeding didn't ease and the woman later miscarried in stages. Bora says, per the Sun, that he took a medical history from the patient but admits he didn't do a pregnancy test.

Millions of women use the Mirena coil, which is more than 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, per Britain's National Health Service. (A child who gave birth at age 11 became the youngest to do so in Britain.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Doc Gave IUD to Pregnant Woman, Who Loses Baby