Applying CPR On Infants
Apply these steps to offer CPR to babies below 1-year-old.
- Stay Secure
Kids might be contaminated with infectious diseases. If you are worried about possible contact with an infectious disease, apply general safety measures and put on protective gear, if accessible.
- Try To Awaken The Infant
Really small babies react well to having the soles of their feet stroked. For infants older than 2 months old, tap their shoulder lightly.
If the baby does not get up, have somebody call the emergency services immediately. If no one else is on hand to call the ambulance and the baby is not breathing, move on to step 3 and perform CPR for about 2 minutes prior to calling the emergency services again.
- Start Chest Compressions
If the infant is not breathing, place two fingers on the breastbone. Push straight down about one and a half inches and then let the chest go all the way back up again. Do that about 30 times, about twice every second.
If you’ve been taught in CPR and you know how to provide rescue breaths, go to step 4. If not, keep performing chest compressions and proceed to step 5.
- Provide The Baby With Two Breaths
After doing 30 chest compressions, cover up the baby’s mouth and nose with your mouth and softly puff until you see their chest go up. Allow the air to escape – the chest will go down again.
If no air goes in when you attempt to breath, move the baby’s head and try again. If that doesn’t work, then do chest compressions again (step 3).
- Continue Doing CPR And Call The Paramedics After 2 Minutes
If you are alone, keep performing CPR for 2 minutes (roughly 5 sets of compressions) before phoning the ambulance. If another person is there, have that individual phone the emergency services. Even if the infant wakes up, you have to call the ambulance any time you had to perform CPR.
Once the ambulance has been phoned or you have someone else phoning, keep performing CPR. Don’t stop until assistance arrives or the baby awakens.
CPR Tips
- When looking for signs of breathing and you’re not certain then presume the infant isn’t breathing. It’s much worse to presume an infant is breathing and not do something.
- When asking someone else to phone the ambulance, make certain you tell them why they are phoning. If not, they might not tell the emergency dispatcher precisely what’s going on. If the dispatcher knows the infant isn’t breathing or responding, the dispatcher might be able to provide you with some help over the phone.
Related Video on CPR for Infants