Portsmouth woman’s water breaks while watching adult pantomime

A woman whose water broke while watching an adult pantomime said it was because she “was laughing so hard”.

Abbie Foord, 24, from Hilsea in Portsmouth was at the Kings Theatre in Southsea on 29 December to see Aladdin.

Despite being heavily pregnant with her first child that was due on New Years Eve she said she was “not too concerned” as she had no inkling that the baby was on its way.

Foord said: “I had to leave at the start of the interval as my water broke, luckily we did as within a few hours we were in the labour room.”

Foord said she wasn’t “panicked” and “didn’t really feel nervous” by the events as she and the colleagues she was with all work at the Queen Alexandra Hospital.

She said: “At the start of the interval, I remember turning to my mum and said ‘I think my waters have broken’. I think she thought I was joking.

“I then stood up and my waters had definitely broke.

“We went to the toilet to triple check and my mum went back to grab our things as we didn’t know if this would be quick or not. But within two hours of being there I was in the labour room.”

She joked: “We went to the normal panto when I was 37 weeks pregnant and nothing happened.

“I think an adult panto is definitely what does it, I’ve never laughed so hard.”

In the early hours of the morning on 30 December she and her partner Billy, welcomed Jack.

He was named after Billy’s grandfather but coincidentally the name is also a nod to the panto dame Jack Edwards who Foord said was delivering all the laughs that led to her waters breaking.

Edwards said: “Being mid-performance when Abbie’s waters broke was completely surreal.

“One minute you’re in full panto mode, the audience is in hysterics, and suddenly real life takes over.”

He added: “Seeing Abbie afterwards and finally meeting baby Jack was wonderful, it puts everything into perspective and has turned a mad night at the theatre into something truly unforgettable.”