BHOPAL/JABALPUR: Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday rescued a baby who got delivered as his mother committed suicide by hanging Laxmi Thakur, 36, was found hanging from the ceiling of a cowshed near her house in Katni district by her husband Santosh around 6.30am.When police reached the spot, they found a newborn boy tangled in Laxmi’s sari between her legs, with umbilical cord in situ.Sub-inspector Kavita Sahni – who was first to reach the spot on receiving message from police control room (PCR) – cleaned the baby and placed him on a sheet providing warmth and comfort, below his mother’s body till doctors came and separated them by cutting the cord. They shifted him to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a government health facility in the town where doctors said he had a good chance of survival.Laxmi was nine months' pregnant and she had four other children, including a 16-year-old girl.“We got a call around 7.13am that a woman has committed suicide by hanging herself in Katni town. I reached the spot quickly. While examining her body I found the baby trapped inside Laxmi’s sari. He was alive. I called for immediate medical assistance. After cutting umbilical cord and separating him, we brought mother’s body down for autopsy,” Kavita told TOI over phone."Unfortunate incident it is, but at least we could save the baby. We are hopeful that he will survive. Doctors say delay on our part could have risked his life further. It's a miraculous survival of the baby after mother’s death,” she added.The exact cause of suicide is not known yet, said police. It was Laxmi’s husband Santosh who saw her body first. He informed neighbours and local corporator who subsequently informed the control room. Santosh told police that there was no dispute between them and both had gone to sleep after watching TV by 9pm on Wednesday.When he woke up around 6am, Laxmi was not around. He searched around and found Laxmi hanging in the cowshed nearby.Medicos say this may be the first case (for documentation) of a woman delivering a baby during/after suicidal hanging “It is difficult to find out the exact timing of her suicide and the delivery. But it is for sure that the baby was born because of hanging,” said Vivek Lal, ASP Katni. “Efforts are being made to ascertain cause behind this suicide. Family is clueless,” said the officer. Laxmi and Santosh worked on farmlands to earn their livelihood .