A mum who gave birth in a Southport amusement arcade toilet described leaving her baby girl as a “terrible mistake”.
Nicola Glover, 30, was due to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today but must wait a further six weeks before learning her fate.
Glover, of Hughes Avenue, Prescot, had pleaded guilty to child cruelty at an earlier hearing but problems with a psychiatric assessment meant a pre-sentence report was not available.
The baby, later named April by nurses at Ormskirk hospital, was found on the floor of a disabled toilet by staff at Silcock’s Arcade, Southport, at around 7pm on April 16.
Anya Horwood, prosecuting, told the court: “She said she regretted all of her actions and said in her own words she wished she could turn the clock back.
“She said she had made a terrible, terrible, terrible mistake. She was hopeful the baby would be found and was happy when she saw a police presence and a helicopter in Southport.
“She said she had not touched the baby after the birth but could tell that she was breathing.”
Ms Horwood said assistant manager of the arcade, Warren Chadwick, wrapped April in towels and rubbed her back until she “turned from a blue colour to pink” and began to cry.
Judge Alan Conrad, QC, said Mr Chadwick was “to be commended” for his actions.
Glover, a mum of five including baby April, was found the following day after a widespread appeal.
She had been with her mother, Jackie Glover, and other relatives on a trip to the seaside town when the offence took place.
Ms Horwood said Glover had been acting normally until around 5pm, when she told her mother she needed to use the toilet.
She said: “(Glover) returned some time later and her mother noticed she had blood on her hands and her clothing. She said she had been on her period.”
The court heard Jackie Glover did not believe her and noticed a swelling below her diaphragm had reduced.
Ms Glover had been harbouring suspicions her daughter was pregnant for some time, although Glover denied this.
Later that evening staff at the arcade, who were on a rota to clean the disabled toilet, noticed blood on the floor.
Ms Horwood said they discovered a baby girl, with her placenta still attached, lying on the floor with her head towards the door.
Baby April was taken to Southport A&E before being transferred to Ormskirk Hospital neo-natal unit.
Ms Horwood said: “Medical professionals said things could have been very different if she had been left for any length of time in the state she was in.”
Nicola Glover outside Liverpool Crown Court.
The court heard Glover was confronted the following day by her mum after media reports of the incident.
She initially denied the baby was hers, but later told her mum to call the police after being warned “things were going to spiral out of control.”
Glover was treated in hospital, where she told medical staff she panicked after her waters broke. She was declared fit for interview on April 23, when she told police officers she had given birth in the toilets “suddenly and unexpectedly” and she had “made the worst decision of her life.”
The court heard she found she was pregnant around Christmas time after taking a pregnancy test.
She had informed an aunt but later claimed she had lost the baby.
Glover claimed she had and no symptoms of pregnancy, and her other daughter had also been a “spontaneous birth.”
Baby April and two of Glover’s children who had been living with her have since been taken into care.
Her oldest two children had already been adopted.
Charlotte Atherton, representing Glover, said two psychiatrists had come to conflicting conclusions about her client.
She asked the court to adjourn the case as one of the psychiatric assessments had not been submitted in time for the Probation Service to complete a pre-sentence report.
Glover will now be sentenced on November 18.
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/