Woman Gives Birth at Starbucks

Thu Aug 22, 4:16 PM ET

WILMETTE, Ill. (AP) - A Chicago woman and her son were recuperating at a hospital Wednesday, one day after she gave birth in a Starbucks bathroom in suburban Wilmette.

Lisabeth Rohlck and her son were in good condition at Evanston Northwestern Hospital, according to a hospital news release. She was driving to pick up her 2-year-old son Tuesday when she went into labor and pulled into a shopping center in Wilmette, the hospital said.

Rohlck went into a Starbucks and entered its single-person bathroom.

"I was in the back room and I heard cries for help," said Griffin Baron, shift manager at the coffee shop. He said a customer ran to the restroom to help Rohlck, along with some employees.

With paramedics on the way, three Starbucks employees spread as many towels as possible across the washroom floor while Rohlck's contractions intensified.

"It was about four minutes later that we heard a baby crying," Baron said.

Wilmette Fire Department personnel arrived shortly thereafter, checked and cleaned the baby and wrapped him in towels.

Rohlck gave birth to a boy weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces, who was 20 inches long, said hospital spokeswoman Joan Trezek. He had not yet been named. Neither the mother nor the father, Tom Celner, were available for comment.

Witnesses said Rohlck was on a cell phone talking to her doctor as she was being wheeled out to an ambulance to be taken to the hospital. The mother waved to a crowd of cheering customers.

"It was awesome," Baron said. "She was psyched."

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