Would you know what to do if your child had an accident and stopped breathing? Could you step in, stay calm and save their life?
Although many people know how to perform CPR on adults, knowing what to do if a child or baby stops breathing is less well known.
In fact, child and infant CPR follows the same basic steps as adult CPR, with a few basic – but very important – differences.
- Check for danger
- Check for a response
- Send for help – dial 000
- Check the airway – if there is something obstructing it, roll them onto their side and clear it using a sweeping action with your fingers. Once it is clear, tilt the child’s head back; an infant’s head shouldn’t be tilted.
- Check for breathing. If the child is breathing, roll them on to their side and keep checking them until the ambulance arrives. If they aren’t breathing, start CPR.
- Commence CPR. For a child, position the heel of your hands in the centre of the chest. For a baby, position two fingers in the centre of the chest, between the nipples. Give two breaths to every 30 compressions (at 120 compressions a minute). Compress chest to one-third of the child’s chest depth.
- Apply a defibrillator as soon as possible if one is available.
To brush up on your CPR skills and ensure you’d know exactly what to do in an emergency, enrol in a first-aid course today. Your child may be counting on you!
