This is the moment an ill woman’s motherly instincts kick in when she sticks out a foot to stop her toddler from hitting their head on the floor.

Ms Zuo, who was ill with a bad cold and fever at the time, was filmed saving her falling baby at her home in the city of Changchun in the eastern Chinese province of Jilin last week.

She said she was heavily medicated at the time and was feeling sluggish, but somehow managed to foresee that her one-year-old child was about to fall while climbing a small table in front of the TV.

Ms Zuo said: “Bringing up a baby needs supernatural powers at any time. I caught a cold and had a fever, my brain was reacting slowly, but fortunately my motherly instinct was still there!”

In the footage, the child is seen toddling over to the table beneath the TV screen as the sick mother, apparently wearing pyjamas and looking worse for wear, gets a glass of water in the kitchen.

Another woman, possibly a relative or nanny, momentarily leaves the room as the tot climbs the table.

Ms Zuo walks over to her playing child while taking a swig of water and arrives just as the tot falls backwards off the table.

Just before the toddler hits their head on the floor, the mother sticks out a foot and cushions their head.

The tot is seen looking up at Ms Zuo while lying on her foot as she says a few strong words.