Baby 'starts moving' in body bag hours after being declared dead by major hospital

A newborn who had been declared dead was found to be alive shortly afterward, when a stunned funeral home employee noticed the supposed corpse moving inside a body bag.

Noah Gabriel da Cruz Santos was born in Brazil, but on July 15, at just one month old, he suffered complications involving his heart and lungs at Santa Casa hospital in São Paulo.

Prior to his apparent death, he had been transferred to the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as he required surgery and was awaiting a further transfer when the incident took place.

Noah’s parents were informed of their son’s supposed passing, but funeral worker Regina Célia Paschoal later reported discovering the infant moving inside the body bag in which he had been placed.

In the wake of the incident, Santa Casa has maintained that it followed all proper protocols surrounding Noah’s declaration of death, reports the Daily Star.

In an official statement, the hospital explained that CPR procedures, which continued for 45 minutes, were immediately initiated, and when all life-saving measures proved unsuccessful, Noah was pronounced dead that afternoon.

The hospital stressed that all appropriate procedures were followed throughout Noah’s time at their facility, stating: “The Brazilian protocol for confirming death is recognized for its high standards of rigor and safety.”

Speaking to EPTV regarding the incident, Regina, who has 17 years of professional experience, recalled: “I opened it, and the baby started moving even more; he was making a noise, as if trying to breathe.”

Regina’s colleague, Mattheus Batagello, corroborated her story, admitting that at first they wondered if something else might be causing the movement: “It was a desperate moment, but also a relief, you know?”

He disclosed that he called other nurses to check Noah after he heard the baby making “a sort of hiccupping sound”. After confirming that Noah was alive, he was immediately readmitted to the neonatal unit for intensive care to support his recovery.

Following the incident, Noah’s mother, Letícia Cristina da Cruz Santos, has spoken out about what happened. In a video shared on social media, she described how she and her husband viewed their son’s body after his cardiorespiratory event.

She said: “We are contemplating God’s greatness and admiring our little warrior, who continues to fight to get well. We fully believe in our miracle […] miracles can’t be explained; they must be experienced.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re dreaming, not just me; I was talking to my husband just a little while ago inside the hospital, looking at him [Noah] as he moved around, kicking his little legs with his eyes open. We’re just in awe. I actually witnessed the moment it happened, how the doctor reacted and how hard she fought to try to resuscitate him.”

Leticia, who has praised the level of care Noah received throughout his 32-day hospital stay, revealed that she and her husband spent roughly an hour with their son following his passing. She described the moment they were told their boy had come back to life, as reported by G1.