A newborn child was found alive and attached to the umbilical cord after his mother allegedly hanged herself at Katni town in Madhya Pradesh, police said.
Laxmi Thakur, 36, who was found hanging from the roof of a cowshed at her house Thursday morning, apparently gave birth to a child in the moment of suicide.
Her husband Santosh, a farmer, called the police after seeing her hanging.
"When I reached the spot, Laxmi was dead. But I realised that there was something under her sari and was taken aback to see a baby dangling between her legs, attached to the umbilical cord," said police sub-inspector Kavita Sahni.
A gynaecologist was called who cut the umbilical cord and released the child, a boy.
He was rushed to the district hospital and was doing fine, Ms Sahni told.
As to the reason for the woman's suicide, Ms Sahni said it appeared that she was fed up with the abject poverty in which the couple lived.
The newborn was her fifth child, she said, adding that a probe was on.