Woman in coma gives birth

A Chongqing woman who has been in a coma for three months has given birth to a baby boy, it was reported yesterday.

Song Yingqiong, 35, a farmer from Dianjiang county, gave birth after a natural labour on Tuesday.

Ms Song has been in hospital at the People's Liberation Army No 324 Hospital in Chongqing municipality since a car accident on May 22, when she was four months' pregnant, according to the China News Service.

The agency said an elderly lady who shared the same room with Ms Song was alarmed on Tuesday when she heard the woman making strange noises.

The lady alerted doctors, who immediately called the mid-wives and nurses.

The one-hour labour was smooth but Ms Song remained in a vegetative state after giving birth, the report said.

The boy, who has yet to be named, weighed 2.3kg and was described as healthy.

There were signs that Ms Song might be aware of the process. Doctors were quoted by China News Service as saying Ms Song opened her eyes after the birth.

The report gave little background on the woman's family.

It was not clear if her husband was present.