A newborn baby boy in the U.S.' central Pennsylvania is lucky to still be alive today after receiving a dose of painkillers that was meant for his mum who underwent C-section in order to give birth to him.

The mother, according to the unidentified father, gave birth in Mount Nittany Medical Center's maternity ward in July. He said a nurse came to them on the morning after the infant boy was born, carrying pain medication.

But for some unknown reason, the father alleged the nurse injected the medicine Toradol in the wrong IV, which was the baby's, who has breathing and temperature problems, according to the Centre Daily Times.

A patient receiving medication via intravenous therapy.

After performing the routine, the nurse left and no longer returned.

Later that day, the father noticed his son getting worse. He immediately requested his son to be released from Mount Nittany Medical Center and transferred the baby to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville where the newborn was treated for a few days.

The baby "was able to work (its) way through" the incident, the Centre Daily Times quoted police as saying.

The father has since filed a complaint against the nurse from Mount Nittany Medical Center identified only as "Deb."

Initial investigation showed that the nurse, after giving the wrong medication to the baby, did not come back to them and also failed to report the incident to her supervisor. She was alleged to just have gone home after her shift was over.

"We are concerned by any situation that impacts a patient's safety," Nichole Monica, spokeswoman for Mount Nittany Medical Center, told the Centre Daily Times. "In addition to conducting our own review and analysis, we are cooperating with those investigating, and we are assessing and reviewing our practices, training and monitoring procedures to prevent errors."

Police are considering filing endangerment and neglect charges against the Mount Nittany Medical Center nurse.