Weston Rise Estate concierge officer Janet Oparebea with baby boy Jaden

A CONCIERGE has decided to retrain as a midwife after delivering a baby at work.

Janet Oparebea, a concierge officer on the Weston Rise estate in Pentonville Road, arrived at work early one morning to the sound of a woman calling for help.

She found a couple in the lobby outside the concierge office. “The woman was asking for help. She was heavily pregnant.

She said: ‘Help me, please, I can feel the baby’s coming,’” Ms Oparebea said.

The woman’s partner was on the phone to the hospital. “The husband told me: ‘Please help her,’” Ms Oparebea said. “I grabbed the phone and asked what to do.”

They laid blankets across the floor in the lobby. “It was shocking at first, I was a bit scared – and then I realised she needed my help. When I looked at the woman’s face, I saw she was in pain. I said to myself: ‘I need to grip [the situation] and do something.’”

“The woman was very scared. I said: ‘Don’t worry, just push’, and the baby just dropped into my hands. The paramedics said [over the phone] to wrap the baby and the mum with warm blankets.

“They said to tie a shoelace around the [umbilical] cord, so I used my shoelace,” Ms Oparebea said.

“I was so happy and thankful. She went from standing up, and within seconds the baby was in my hands. I was so happy to help.

“The whole thing only took around three to four minutes.

“I’ve never dealt with something like this before, and I’ve been working here for almost 22 years. I never expected I would see something like that,” she said.

“I was so happy to be there, I know her [from the estate.] She came to say thank you afterwards, they sent me flowers,” she said.

The healthy baby boy has been named Jaden – a boy’s name that sounds similar to Janet – in Ms Oparebea’s honour.

“After that I want to do a nursing course,” Ms Oparebea said. “I’m thinking of going to college to become a midwife.

“It has made me more confident, and I want to help women. It has really empowered me – I have this confidence now.”

“I have done so many things, but this was amazing,” she added.