We hope you never have to use cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a child or infant, but it is useful if you know this technique to come in handy when there is a need. You can save someone’s life by helping them in the event of a cardiac or breathing emergency.
With the below step-by-step guide, you can provide a child or infant with CPR anytime, anywhere. You can print a copy of this and keep it somewhere you can give it a look if there is an emergency.
What Should You Do Before Giving Child or Baby CPR?
1. The situation you and the child are in should be safe. Start with tapping on the child’s should and shout out loud, “Are you OK?”. It will help you ensure the child needs help. For infants, move the bottom of the foot to obtain a response.
2. Immediately call Call 911, and if the child is not responding to you, ask your bystander to call 911, and you can take care of the child for approximately 2 minutes. In case you are alone, you need first to take care of the child for 2 minutes and then call 911. On the other hand, if the child responds, call 911 and report the situation and obtain their consent to give care to the child. You also need to check the child from head to toe and ask questions to determine what happened.
3. Now let the child lie down on this back, tilt his/her head back and ask him/her to lift their chin and open the airway.
4. You now have to check if the child is breathing correctly. For this, you need to carefully listen to their breathing pattern for a maximum of 10 seconds. Infants have periodic breathing, so do not worry if the pattern changes; it’s normal.
5. It is time to deliver two rescue breaths if the child isn’t breathing. The child is on the ground with their head tilted and chin lifted. Then shut the child’s nose, making a complete seal and by placing your mouth over the child’s mouth. And then breathe into the child’s mouth twice.
6. If the child is still unresponsive to the rescue breaths, you need to begin CPR.
How To Perform A CPR On A Baby?
1. First, you have to kneel beside the child.
2. Then you have to start pushing hard and fast.
- For infants, give 30 compressions, and each must be about 1.5 inches deep using your two fingers.
- For elder children, place your hand heel on the center of their chest. Then place your second-hand heel on top of the first one and bind your fingers together. Then give 30 compressions that are about 2 inches deep.
3. You need to give a maximum of 2 rescue breaths.
4. Keep continuing these steps until you see a child’s response in the form of breathing or eye movement. Or till the emergency medical team arrives. Once they are there, you can move out.
These are just an overview of the steps you should follow when performing CPR for an infant or baby, but you should also take professional classes for the same. If you are seeking help with CPR for infants, you can contact Pediatric Healthcare. Call us at (281)655-1500 or (936)539-8190 to come to visit us.
