Mum gives birth to 6lb 4oz baby boy in her SLEEP after dozing off during labour

Alice Payne, 23, woke up to find her son Philip was being born - but then fell into a slumber again for the final few pushes

A new mum gave birth in her SLEEP after she dozed off during labour .
Alice Payne, 23, woke up to find she had nearly pushed son Philip out, after a machine monitoring her contractions misread how intense they were.
She had almost given birth to her 6lb 4oz son when she fell asleep again for the final minutes of her first child’s labour.
Alice had been medically induced but a machine had misread her contractions and did not identify how close to together her contractions were.
Thinking she was some way off giving birth, doctors gave her medication to help her sleep and build her strength for the final push.
But to their amazement they watched as she pushed her son out whilst napping at the same time.And after waking for the final few minutes of the labour, she immediately fell back to sleep after Philip made his entrance into the world.
She said: "I remember a nurse trying to put Philip in my arms but I was going to sleep again. I woke up two hours later to properly meet him.
"Though I'm pleased I missed the pain of labour, I do wish I had been more present for my first baby's birth.
"Now when he's older and asks me, I'll have to tell him I nodded off."
Private tutor Alice, of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, fell pregnant in April after two months of trying and was 'intrigued' about the experience of childbirth.
She was medically induced at 10.30pm on December 16 at the Royal Derby Hospital after her son stopped growing in the womb at 38 weeks pregnant.
But after nothing happened for a further 24 hours doctors began injecting the hormone Syntocinon into her body every half an hour to increase the intensity of the contractions.
After four hours, the monitor read that her contractions were fluctuating between 20 to 40 per cent of her muscles engaged.

Alice Payne with her baby son Philip, who came into the world in a novel way (Photo: SWNS)

Alice Payne's son Philip was born after an easier labour than most (Photo: SWNS)

In serious pain, Alice asked for some pain relief and was given a full dose of Pethadine by medics who did not believe she was close to giving birth.
But thirty minutes later, groggy Alice popped to the loo, only for her baby's heart rate to slo
Panicked, medics got her back on the bed, where Alice fell asleep, and doctors realised she was actually 10cm dilated and ready to give birth.
Alice explained: "Because the contraction monitor wasn't reading me properly, doctors didn't realise that I was as far along as I actually was.
"So I was given some drugs to let me nap for a couple of hours, but thirty minutes later they realised I was ready to push."

Alice was glad she missed out on the pains of labour - but gutted she missed her son's birth (Photo: SWNS)

Philip, seen here, was born without his mum even noticing (Photo: SWNS)

In her relaxed state medics didn't think she would be able to push, and thought they would need to rush her in for an emergency C-section.
But, incredibly, in her sleep, Alice responded to the familiar voice of her husband John Payne, 31, a security worker who would tell her when to push.
Alice tells how her sleep birth was causing quite an attraction and at one point had a midwife, two doctors, a nurse and student nurse watching the 'weirdest thing' they had ever seen.
She woke for the last 10 minutes of the birth on December 18 - but fell asleep as soon as Philip was born.
They were discharged from hospital two days later and both mum and son are doing well