The 19-year-old woman – from war-torn Ukraine – was busted by cops when they found her with £19,000.
She reportedly wanted to start a business with the money but has now been detained.
Police revealed a huge stack of banknotes that she accepted before they moved in to arrest the woman in blitzed Dnipro city.
The teenage mother faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of trading her child.
Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne reported: “She did not want to take care of her son, so she decided to sell him and use the money to open her own business.”
She attempted to sell her child to “her acquaintance”, according to police.
“At the appointed time, she came to the meeting place, where she was detained while receiving money.”
The boy has been handed over to social services in Ukraine.
A female worker from the care service was seen holding the baby who – minutes earlier – was intended to be sold, police officers said.
She was detained for 60 days pending further investigations.
“Doctors are now taking care of the boy,” said an official statement.
“The detainee’s place of residence was searched and physical evidence was seized.”
Reports did not say what type of business she intended to open.
The police statement said: “The crime was documented by the police departments of the Migration Police and the Investigative Department of the National Police in the Dnipro region in cooperation with the Department of Criminal Analysis”.
Neither the suspect nor the buyer’s identities were revealed.
