Two off-duty nurses on a coffee run sprang into action to safely deliver a baby in a Checkers staff bathroom after a barista went into unexpected labour.
Johannesburg, South Africa (02 June 2026) – It is often said that heroes are just regular people who happen to be in the right place at the perfect time…
Leanie and Jana had just finished their volunteer work feeding a feral cat colony at the Modderfontein reserve. On their way home, they decided to pop into their local Checkers to grab a takeaway coffee. While waiting at the counter, they noticed there was no barista around. When they asked where the staff member was, they got a rather alarming response…
They wouldn’t be able to get coffee…because the barista was in the bathroom, unexpectedly giving birth. Without a second thought, the two friends sprang into action and rushed straight to the staff toilets.
Jana, who had spent a few years working in the Middle East as a midwife, immediately went to help the baby. Leanie, also a highly experienced nurse, focused entirely on the mother.
The situation was critical. The newborn was in obvious distress, turning blue, and had not yet taken his first breath. He was still attached to the placenta, and the delivery had happened so suddenly that the new mother, who had no idea she was pregnant, was in complete shock.
“We both realised that the conditions the baby was born in was not ideal for both mom and baby,” Leanie tells us. “We did not even have to think about it, we both just ran to the bathroom without asking each other if we were going to help or not. It was just automatic. And with our nursing background and training, we do not run away from medical emergencies, we run towards it. It’s just what we do.”
The scene inside the bathroom required immediate, calm medical intervention.
“When we arrived Mom was in shock, bleeding, and she had already delivered the baby, but he had fallen into the toilet. A cleaning lady that was there had helped her get the baby out. I made her sit on the toilet and started doing a uterus rub to contract the uterus so that she could stop bleeding,” says Leanie. “I spoke to her to keep her calm and asked many questions. While I was busy doing that, Jana attended to the baby, who was wrapped up in blankets in the arms of the cleaner who was working in the bathroom.”
With every second counting, the nurses had to work with whatever tools they could find.
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Amidst the chaos, Leanie worked gently to comfort the mother, who was trying to process the sudden arrival of her little boy.
“I asked her what happened, she told me that she just had pain in her lower back, she came to the bathroom and as she sat down the baby came out. I asked her if she knew she was pregnant and she said no. I told her not to worry, we are going to help the two of them.”
Once the baby was breathing and both patients were stable, Jane and Leanie knew they needed to get them to a safer environment with proper medical resources while waiting for emergency services. They moved the mother and newborn to the Dis-Chem next door, where they could administer vital oxygen.
Because the birth was a complete surprise, the new mother had absolutely nothing ready for her little one. Sensing the need, the off-duty nurses quickly bought a receiving blanket, nappies, and other newborn basics so the baby could be warm and comfortable.
“By the time the ambulance arrived the baby had diapers, clothes and a receiving blanket.”
While Leanie and Jana’s professional training saved the day, Leanie says the happy ending was down to a team effort from an entire community of strangers who refused to look away.
“It was not only myself and Jana…but the Checkers staff – who were our runners to get us what we needed – as well as the cleaning lady in the toilet who helped her when the baby arrived, as well as the nursing sister for Dischem where we took mom and baby because baby needed oxygen,” says Leanie. “We took over her clinic until the baby was stable and breathing properly. We waited there until the ambulance arrived to ferry them off to hospital.”
“There were just so many people pulling together that morning for these two humans, it was unbelievable.”
The story was first shared with us by Debbie, a close friend and colleague of the two nurses, who felt their selfless actions deserved to be celebrated, even though the pair never looked for any recognition.
Leanie says the gravity of what they had achieved only really settled in once the ambulance had safely taken the mother and baby to the hospital.
“It moved us. When we eventually got home after everything, we sat and had a cup of coffee, reflecting on how awesome it was that we were at the right place at the right time to help them, and how wonderful it was that a bunch of strangers came together to help this new mommy and baby.”
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