Infant CPR
When it comes to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), it does differ between infants, children, and adults. Choking is the number one cause of unintentional death in infants. It’s important to be prepared on how to administer CPR to an infant in case you are ever in a situation that requires it. Below are the steps for CPR for an infant if he or she is not breathing.
- Call 9-1-1
- Shout and Tap
Shout and gently tap the child on the shoulder. If there is no response and no breathing or not breathing normally, position the infant on his or her back and begin CPR.
3. Give 30 Compressions
Give 30 gentle chest compressions at the rate of 100 per minute. Use two or three fingers in the center of the chest just below the nipples. Press down approximately one-third the depth of the chest (about 1 and a half inches).
TIP: Child or infant must be on firm, flat surface.
4. Give 2 Gentle Breaths
Open the airway using a head tilt lifting of chin. Do not tilt the head too far back. If the baby is not breathing or not breathing normally, cover the baby’s mouth and nose with your mouth and give 2 gentle breaths. Each breath should be 1 second long. You should see the baby’s chest rise with each breath. Continue giving 30 compressions and 2 breaths until assistance arrives.
The American Heart Association offers a personal learning program called Infant CPR Anytime, which teaches how to alleviate choking for an infant and perform CPR on an infant. This program is an “all-in-one” training kit developed to teach you infant CPR in 20 minutes, and is a kit that is also used in hospital NICU and PICU programs.
