A 27-year-old Canadian woman, Carolina Moreno, has shared how she unknowingly gave birth while asleep during labour, saying she only realised her baby had been delivered after a nurse found the newborn under the blanket.
Moreno, who described the experience as one of the most traumatic moments of her life, shared the story in a TikTok video that gained widespread attention on Tuesday. She later spoke about the incident in an interview with People magazine.
According to Moreno, she was admitted to hospital for an induced labour after testing positive for Group B Streptococcus, a bacterial infection that required doctors to administer antibiotics before breaking her water.
She said she was already three centimetres dilated with a thinning cervix when she arrived at the hospital, unlike her previous pregnancies, prompting medical staff to begin treatment immediately.
After her water was broken, labour was induced with Pitocin. Moreno said contractions became increasingly painful because her baby was not in an ideal position, leading her to request an epidural.
Although the pain relief initially appeared ineffective, she said she continued to activate additional doses until she became comfortable enough to fall asleep while her husband, sister and cousin remained in the delivery room.
Speaking to People magazine, Moreno said nurses repeatedly entered the room after the baby’s heart monitor alarm sounded, explaining that the unborn child had been moving frequently.
“The alarm went off on the monitor, which happens when the heartbeat isn’t found, so my nurse came in to find it again.
“This had happened several times; my baby was very active and he liked to move,” she said.
She explained that she did not immediately become concerned because similar interruptions had occurred earlier.
“Sometimes I’d adjust myself, and I’d move the monitor by accident, so we weren’t overly worried when she initially came in, and I was still pretty asleep,” she said.
“But as the minutes passed, I started to get worried because obviously she’s not finding him… that’s when I really woke up.”
As nurses searched for the baby’s heartbeat, Moreno said she was asked to turn onto her back.
“When I turn on my back, her hands are still on my stomach, and that’s when she points out that my stomach feels really weird.
“In that moment, I don’t know why I just thought, my baby’s dead.”
She said she then felt something beneath the blankets covering her bed.
“I swear I thought it was gonna be like my placenta or my uterus had popped out… I never thought it was going to be my baby.
“And [the nurse] lifts up the blanket, and my son is face down under all of my blankets,” she said.
Moreno recalled panicking after seeing the newborn lying silently beneath the covers.
“He’s face down. He’s not crying. And I just panic. I freak out.
“Obviously, you see a baby, and he’s not crying… That’s everything a newborn shouldn’t be. So I was really scared. I didn’t think he was alive.”
She said the nurse immediately picked up the baby and stimulated him until he cried.
“I am screaming. I screamed at my husband.
“He thought he missed the birth. He just didn’t realise we all missed the birth.”
Reflecting on the experience, Moreno said she later learnt that her son had delivered himself while she was asleep and that no one immediately realised he had already been born.
“It was a huge shock to find him… turns out he was sleeping, and he’s just a very chill baby.
“The nurse didn’t deliver him; he delivered himself.
“We had no idea he was even out, which is actually what made it so scary at first, since they couldn’t find his heartbeat, since he wasn’t in me anymore. We just thought something horrible had happened,” she told People.
Moreno said her son, now three months old, is healthy and has been the easiest of her three children.
“He’s absolutely amazing and was born in perfect health.
“He’s also our easiest baby and the adjustment has been seamless.”
She added, “It was incredibly scary finding him on his stomach under the blankets, not crying, but now that we know his personality, it really makes sense, he’s just the most calm baby.”
