Despite a long-term birth control implant, Denver mother Ebony Cole discovered that she will be having a third baby, leaving doctors confused since the method is 99 percent effective.
"My sisters tried it. It was successful for the both of them, so I thought maybe it would work for me too," said Cole to CBS Denver.
The hormone implant Nexplanon was inserted in Cole's arm in January, at a Kaiser Permanente medical office, to avoid pregnancy. She already has a 5-year-old son and a 7-month-old daughter.
After the device was implanted, the health care provider told her to feel and confirm that it was in. "And I felt it, it was there," said Cole, who was given a sticker to confirm that the implant was in her arm and that it would last until January 2018.
But in April, she learned that she was five weeks pregnant. The doctors at Kaiser Permanente could no longer find the implant when they checked her.
"They looked around in there with the ultrasound for a little while, and then they used their fingers just to feel the area where they put it in at. They couldn't find it," said Cole.
Doctors also did a blood test and found no trace of the progestin hormone in her system, meaning the implant isn't in her arm, reported the Daily Mail.
"This makes no sense. I watched you put it in my arm. I felt it after you got done putting it in my arm. I had it wrapped up, there were bandages around the bandage she put on there," said Cole, who is now 14 weeks pregnant.
Kaiser Permanente provided a statement to CBS Denver that said, "The care and safety of our patients is our highest priority. Any concern raised involving a patient's care is taken seriously and will be fully investigated."
"I personally believe that it's still there," said Cole, concerned that the implant might harm her or her baby.
Nexplanon is made by Merck who recommends patients and caregivers feel for the implant after it's inserted since "the implant may not be in the patients' arm at all due to failed insertion."
