A woman who gave birth in a shopping centre has been reunited with the security guard who helped deliver her baby when the infant arrived unexpectedly.
Krishna Barot, 32, was at Silverburn in Glasgow, shopping for aromatherapy oils for the water birth she had planned when she started having contractions.
Her waters broke when she went to the toilet and son Nitul was born 15 minutes later, weighing 7lb 3oz.
First aiders Michelle McKeller and Catherine Brisbane rushed to help deliver the baby, whose birth certificate states that he was born in “Silverburn Shopping Centre, Barrhead Road” on July 15 2016 at 8pm.
He is thought to be the first baby born in a shopping centre in Scotland.
Mrs Barot, from Crookston, Glasgow, was two days overdue when she visited the mall and initially did not realise she was going into labour.
She said: “I was walking through Silverburn with my family, shopping for aromatherapy oils for my planned water pool birth, when I started to experience some pain. As the pain wasn’t constant, I chose to ignore it and only realised it was full-blown contractions when I visited the ladies’ toilets a bit later.
“By this point the pain was unbearable and I could barely stand, so my mother–in–law called for help, which is when Michelle and Catherine turned up.
“Michelle immediately recognised that I was in labour and helped me lie down in the mother and baby cubicle, as I was starting to lose consciousness.
“I could hear everyone shouting “Push, push, you can do it!” and within a matter of minutes Nitul was born. It all happened so quickly.”
Mrs Barot, who also has a three-year-old daughter, added: “The staff were so quick to respond and did an amazing job. I am so very grateful and can’t thank them enough.”
Security officer Ms McKeller said that being a mother of two herself helped her know what to do.
She said: “As one of Silverburn’s first aiders, I was alerted by one of our cleaning staff that a mother was going into labour in the ladies’ toilets. I was with Krishna for about 10 minutes before the baby was crowning, then within five minutes Nitul was born.
“I’m glad we were there to help, because it all happened so quickly – without us she would have been by herself.
“It was an absolutely incredible experience and I am so pleased to see Nitul and his mum doing so well.”
She added: “It feels good, the fact that you’ve brought a wee kid into the world and it’s a special kind of satisfaction you have knowing that you actually achieved that.”
Silverburn management have given the infant £500 worth of baby goodies to celebrate his arrival.
General manager David Pierotti said: “Silverburn offers a wide range of facilities for mothers and mums-to-be, but this is the first time we have delivered a baby.
“We are thrilled that Krishna and Nitul have come back to the centre to visit us and astonished to see that his birth certificate really does say he was born in Silverburn.
“Hats off to the amazing staff who stepped in and went far beyond the call of duty to deliver Nitul safely.”
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe