A dad has shared footage of the moment he fell asleep next to his baby – and then woke up terrified that it had suffocated to death.

The footage shows the dad slumbering peacefully alongside the baby when he suddenly wakes up with a start and looks across clearly scared at the baby lying spread-eagled alongside him.

He said he thought the child had died from suffocation and leaned over to grab it, only to find that it was sleeping peacefully.

After cradling the child in his hands he then lowers it gently back to the bed where it continues sleeping and the dad can breathe a sigh of relief.

The incident happened at the family home in a subdivision of Ordos in autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, in China.

The footage taken from the family bedroom was then shared online by the family and quickly went viral on social media winning praise for the concerned dad for really taking care of his child.