File image: Carolina Moreno
A 27-year-old Canadian mother, Carolina Moreno, has shared the remarkable story of how she unknowingly gave birth to her third child while asleep during labour, describing the experience as one of the most traumatic moments of her life.
Moreno recounted the incident in a TikTok video that has attracted widespread attention online, revealing that neither she nor the medical team realised her baby had already been born until several anxious moments later.
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 explained that, unlike her previous pregnancies, she arrived at the hospital already three centimetres dilated with her cervix thinning, prompting medical staff to begin treatment immediately. A few hours later, doctors broke her water and administered Pitocin to stimulate contractions.
As labour progressed, Moreno said the contractions became increasingly painful because the baby was not in an ideal position. She requested an epidural, and although the pain relief did not work immediately, repeated doses eventually eased the discomfort enough for her to fall asleep.
While she slept, her husband, sister and cousin remained in the delivery room as nurses continued routine monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat.
Speaking later to People magazine, Moreno said the baby’s heart monitor alarm had gone off several times during labour because the unborn child was very active and frequently changed position.
“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 because my baby was very active and liked to move,” she said.
Initially, she was not alarmed because similar interruptions had occurred earlier.
“Sometimes I’d adjust myself and accidentally move the monitor, so we weren’t overly worried when the nurse first came in while I was still asleep,” she recalled.
However, as the nurse continued searching unsuccessfully for the baby’s heartbeat, Moreno said she began to fear the worst.
“As the minutes passed, I started to get worried because she still wasn’t finding him. That’s when I really woke up,” she said.
The nurse asked her to turn onto her back while continuing the search. Moreno said the nurse suddenly remarked that her stomach felt unusually different.
“At that moment, I thought my baby had died,” she recalled.
Moments later, as she attempted to move her legs, Moreno felt something lying beneath the blankets on the hospital bed.
“I honestly thought it was my placenta or that something had gone terribly wrong. I never imagined it was my baby,” she said.
When the nurse lifted the blankets, they discovered the newborn lying face down, completely silent.
“He wasn’t crying, and I panicked immediately. Seeing a newborn not crying is terrifying. I genuinely believed he wasn’t alive,” Moreno said.
The nurse quickly picked up the baby and stimulated him until he began crying.
“I was screaming. I even screamed at my husband. He thought he had missed the birth, but none of us realised the baby had already been delivered,” she said.
Moreno later learned that her son had effectively delivered himself while she was asleep, without anyone immediately noticing.
“The nurse didn’t deliver him; he delivered himself. We had no idea he was already out, which is why everyone thought something terrible had happened when they couldn’t find his heartbeat anymore,” she explained.
Despite the frightening ordeal, Moreno said her son recovered immediately and has remained healthy.
Now three months old, she described him as thriving and having an exceptionally calm personality.
“He’s absolutely amazing and was born in perfect health. He’s also our easiest baby, and adjusting to life with him has been seamless,” she said.
Looking back on the experience, Moreno believes her son’s naturally relaxed temperament explains why he remained so quiet after birth.
“It was incredibly scary finding him lying on his stomach under the blankets without crying, but now that we know his personality, it all makes sense. He’s just the calmest baby,” she added.
