Baby born in cinema foyer leaves family in disbelief

Sarah and Gareth with their son and newborn daughter Lowri, shortly after she was born in a cinema

A mother-of-two has said she was in "disbelief" after giving birth in the foyer of a busy cinema.

Sarah Vincent, 32, had been watching a film at Cineworld in Spytty, Newport, last Wednesday when she suddenly felt the urge to push.

With no time to get to hospital, Ms Vincent delivered a baby girl in the foyer of the cinema with the help of staff and a member of the public.

"I was in disbelief," she told BBC News. "I was like, 'did that really just happen? Have I dreamt this?'"

Ms Vincent, who was one week away from her due date, recalled how she had been watching Sing 2 with her parents and her three-year-old son Liam when she began to feel uncomfortable.

"About half an hour into the film I was like, 'oh I can’t stay here, I’m going for a walk'," she said.

"So I went out for a walk around the cinema and went into the toilet, and then I thought 'oh my god, I think I need to push'."

Proud dad Gareth arrived soon after his baby daughter had been born

Ms Vincent said she "hobbled" out of the toilet and found a sofa where she lay down, before a member of staff went to fetch her mum, dad and son.

They attempted to help her to the car to go to hospital, but she was unable to make it out of the building.

"We got to the foyer and I was like 'Mum, I need to sit down'," Ms Vincent recalled.

"A man brought me a chair and I said 'no I just need to lie down'. Then I was laid on the floor and I said 'Mum, I need to push'.

"I said, 'I don’t want to give birth here but I think it’s coming'."

Andrew, one of the team leaders at the cinema, rang an ambulance and relayed the call handler's instructions to two women - a member of the public called Amy, who had stopped to help, and another cinema team leader called Jacey.

Within 10 minutes, the trio had helped Ms Vincent to deliver a healthy baby girl named Lowri, weighing 7lb 1oz (3.2kg).

"It's all thanks to those three that she came into the world really safely, in as safe a situation as possible," said Ms Vincent, from Caerphilly.

"It’s so hard to put into words how grateful we are to them, because it could have been so different."

Baby Lowri, shortly after she was born

Ms Vincent's son was also born in dramatic circumstances - delivered in the back of a car by her partner, Gareth Miles.

Mr Miles, who was working in Cardiff when he got the call that Ms Vincent was in labour, got to the cinema as soon as he could and arrived just as she and baby Lowri were being taken to hospital by paramedics.

"I just remember him laughing," said Ms Vincent. "I’m pretty sure he put his hands to his head and was just laughing and thinking 'oh my gosh, this could only happen to you!'

"But also he was over the moon... I don’t think he could believe it."

Ms Vincent, who was discharged from hospital later that day, said nobody was more excited about Lowri's arrival than brother Liam.

"He comes home from nursery and the first thing he does is run up on to the sofa, sit in the corner and ask to cuddle Lowri," Ms Vincent said.

"We’re really enjoying the four of us being a family four."

Jacey Howcroft, one of the two team leaders who helped to deliver Lowri, said it was a shift she would "never forget".

"It was an all-round fantastic effort by everyone involved," Ms Howcroft said.

"I wish the family all the best and hope to see them again in the future, it was a blessing to be a part of the experience."

Mo Williams, general manager at the cinema, said Lowri had been gifted a "lifetime unlimited membership" of free trips to the cinema to celebrate her birth.

“We're incredibly grateful to our quick-thinking team leaders Jacey and Andrew, who stepped in to help deliver the baby safely in our foyer," Ms Williams added.