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Heather Graham, St John Ambulance
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First Aid Trainer with St John Ambulance. Teaches both parents and teachers how to perform first aid on babies and children. St John Ambulance is the leading first aid charity in the UK.
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Baby first aid

Baby resusitation

If you have a baby who’s not breathing, you can assume that their heart has stopped as well. It's a situation all parents dread but by using a combination of chest compressions to move blood around the body and rescue breaths to provide sufficient oxygen, you can manage the situation until help comes. Learning these skills before you have a baby means you'll know exactly what to do in an emergency.
Video Tutorial
In Short

It’s easier to learn first aid skills by watching them being demonstrated – so do watch our online first aid videos from the St John Ambulance team. 

Here is a reminder:

5 rescue breaths.

30 chest compressions (aim for 100-120 breaths per minute - as if to the beat of the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive").

Then alternate 2 rescue breaths with 30 compressions until an ambulance arrives.

Baby resuscitation

If you have a baby who’s unresponsive or not breathing, you can assume that their heart has stopped as well. This means you’ll need to use a combination of chest compressions to keep blood moving around the body alongside what we call rescue breaths to provide sufficient oxygen.

  • First of all, make sure you’re in a situation in which it’s safe to give aid. Look around and above you to ensure that it’s not dangerous for you to stay where you are.
  • See if you can get a response from your baby. Talk loudly and call his name, and flick the soles of his feet to see if you can wake him up.
  • If you get no response, you need to get help fast. If you can, ask someone else to call an ambulance while you start resuscitation, stating clearly that you have an unresponsive baby who’s not breathing. If you’re alone, start resuscitation now.
  • You need to open the baby’s airway. Do this very gently by placing one hand under your baby’s head and one finger under his chin, gently tilting his head back while lifting the chin so that his nose and chin are roughly level.
  • You need to check again whether he’s breathing. To do this, bend down so your ear is close to his mouth and listen and feel for breath against the side of your face. Look at your baby’s stomach to see if you can see it rising and falling. Listen, look and feel for any breaths, counting to 10 as you do so.
  • If your baby’s not breathing, you need to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This is a combination of the chest compressions and rescue breaths as described above.
  • Begin with five rescue breaths. Cover the whole of your baby’s mouth and nose with your mouth and give your baby five small puffs of air.
  • Then you need to perform 30 chest compressions. Place your index and middle finger on the breastbone in the middle of your baby’s chest and press down to about one-third of the depth of the chest. The speed at which you press is between 100 and 120 times a minute – roughly to the beat of the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive”.
  • Having performed 30 chest compressions, you can now alternate between these and two rescue breaths. Open up the airway, hold the chin up, cover your baby’s mouth and nose with your mouth and give two puffs of air. Continue with 30 more chest compressions and then give two rescue breaths. Repeat.
  • If you DON’T have someone with you, perform CPR for one minute before calling for an ambulance, taking your baby with you to the phone if needs be. If someone else has called an ambulance for you, carry on with CPR until the ambulance crew arrives and takes over.

It really helps to see how to perform CPR. You can watch our online First Aid lessons for a practical demonstration, or go and take a full infant first aid course with an expert group such as St John Ambulance.

(Last updated January 17th, 2021)

Here is a class practicing infant resuscitation:

Here is a summary of first aid needed to resuscitate a baby:

DISCLAIMER
This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. Essential Parent has used all reasonable care in compiling the information from leading experts and institutions but makes no warranty as to its accuracy. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details click here.