Newborn
Nurse from Pennsylvania falls drowsy and drops a newborn fracturing his skull while feeding the baby. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A veteran nurse from Pennsylvania dropped a newborn baby boy after mistakenly falling asleep at a hospital resulting in a fracturing of the baby's skull.

According to Uniontown police, the 30-year-old nurse was reportedly "drowsy" when the incident occurred at 6am local time at the birthing centre in the Uniontown hospital.

The pediatrician came in and told us that [the nurse] was feeding him and burping him, and she was drowsy and fell asleep and dropped him. If she was tired, she should have known professionally not to pick up this child.
- Jacqueline Hunt

The baby was airlifted to a Pittsburgh children's hospital 60 miles away and was confirmed to have a skull fracture and bleeding on the right side of his skull.

The baby's mother Jacqueline Hunt said, reported CBS News: "The pediatrician came in and told us that [the nurse] was feeding him and burping him, and she was drowsy and fell asleep and dropped him.

"If she was tired, she should have known professionally not to pick up this child."

The mother was not aware of the incident until an hour after the incident, reported Daily News.

Reports suggest the neck brace has now been removed and the baby is in good health to eat.

"We are sorry that such a wonderful event has been overshadowed by an unfortunate situation," said the hospital in a statement.

"We are thankful that it appears that this incident did not result in significant injury and we will continue to work to ensure that we do all we can to prevent such incidents from occurring.

"We are also supporting the nurse involved in the incident, recognizing her dedication to her job and the anguish she is suffering. Her official status remains under review as we continue to gather information regarding what occurred."

No criminal charges have so far been pressed on the nurse, however an internal investigation is ongoing.