ELLSWORTH (AP) – A woman who was seven months pregnant when she was kicked by a man in a racial incident in Hancock last month has given birth to a baby girl.

Sarah Norris was due in October or November, but said her doctor told her it’s possible the attack caused her to give birth about a month early. The baby weighed under 4 pounds at birth, causing Norris to worry her daughter Jasmine might not survive.

But the baby has since gained weight and Norris said Jasmine is doing fine.

“It’s been very exciting. She’s just changed my whole life around and made me look at life a different way,” Norris told WCSH-TV. “She’s my bundle of joy.”

Norris was attacked after stopping at a convenience store along U.S. Route 1 last month. A man made racial slurs, threw a beer can at her and gave her a glancing kick in the stomach after opening her car door, according to reports at the time.

Robert Dow of Franklin was charged with assault and disorderly conduct. The attorney general’s office has also filed a civil suit against Dow, who is 59.

Norris had contractions after the attack, but they stopped.

About two weeks later, the contractions resumed. She went to the hospital and gave birth to her daughter.

Norris, of Trenton, and her daughter spent a week in the hospital.

The baby was in intensive care for part of that time.

Norris said she and her twin brother grew up in Lamoine after being adopted by a Maine family when they were babies.

The Sept. 9 attack prompted an outpouring of community support for Norris.

On Sept. 18, about 200 people turned out for a baby shower for Norris at the village green in Hancock.

On Wednesday, about 70 University of Maine students gathered for a rally condemning discrimination on the Orono campus. Norris said she has more faith in the community after the kindness shown by people she doesn’t even know.

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