Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is one of the most crucial skills that everyone must know. This is especially true for healthcare professionals, parents, and caregivers. Adult CPR for infants does not qualify you to perform CPR, as it has unique characteristics and requirements. The best way is to be fully prepared for an emergency by knowing your CPR skills. CPR on an infant needs a systematic approach. The most important thing to do is to check if the infant is unresponsive. To know more, keep reading.
What is CPR?
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation for infants is a first aid technique you can use on someone when they are not breathing or when the heart stops. It involves practices such as chest compressions, mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths, etc. This life-saving skill keeps the brain and vital organs alive until specialized treatment is offered.
What is infant CPR?
Cardiac arrest can happen anytime, anywhere. Infant CPR is crucial if a child’s or an infant’s heart stops. Provide compression with breathing until help arrives. Infants have healthy hearts, and often an infant’s heart stops as the infant cannot breathe or is having trouble breathing. The skills of CPR will help you feel better and offer you relief from choking.
When to perform infant CPR?
It is time to start CPR when the infant does not respond to your attempts. You must start CPR immediately once you deem it to be necessary. If you are alone with the infant, you must start CPR right away. Do not wait for 911 to come. Immediate CPR can make a difference for a fragile patient. If you have someone with you, you must ask them to call 911 at the earliest.
Step-by-step instructions for performing CPR on infants
Here are step-by-step instructions for performing CPR on an infant. Know how to do CPR on a baby:
- Check for responsiveness: Gently tap the infant’s foot or shoulder and shout. If the baby is unresponsive, move on to the next step and call 911.
- Rescue breathing: To perform a rescue breath on an infant, you must ensure that the airway is clear. Remove anything that might be blocking it. Take a breath in and place your lips around the mouth of the baby and nose. This will help you form an airtight seal.
If your lips cannot form a seal around the nose and mouth of the baby, close the baby’s mouth and make a seal around the nose. Watch for the infant’s chest to rise as you close the mouth. Blow steadily, and when the chest rises, break the seal and allow the chest to fall. Repeat this four times, and then perform 30 chest compressions.
- Give chest compressions to an infant: Due to the difference in size, the art of performing chest compressions is different for an adult. Place two fingers in the center of the baby’s chest. Press down on the breastbone and depress the chest down by one-third of its depth.
Allow the chest to inflate, and do not move your fingers much. You must note that one full depression and re-inflation account for one cycle of compression. Repeat this procedure 30 times at the rate of one every two seconds. After this, follow by two rescue breaths, until the infant starts breathing again.
- Put an infant in the recovery position: Once an infant has started breathing again, you must put them in the recovery position. This is different from the recovery position for adults. It involves cradling them in your arms, and the head is tilted downward. This will keep the airway open while helping them avoid choking on their tongue.
This does not replace formal CPR training.
Read more: Infant CPR: What is the Difference?
Child CPR vs. infant CPR
The process of CPR is similar for assisting young children, adults, or infants. However, there are key differences. CPR training defines an infant as a child who is less than a year old. A child is someone who is older than a year but has not reached puberty, and an adult is anyone who is the age of puberty or older. Not only this, but there are differences between child and infant CPR.
While in adults, it is usually cardiac arrest that causes a child to go unconscious, in children, it is different. If the breathing or heartbeat stops in a child, it can be a result of suffocation, choking, or drowning. Children and infants are likely to survive following immediate CPR. This is because the bodies are more resilient than adults, as it is an airway blockage, causing them to need CPR. It is crucial that kids get CPR immediately. This helps increase the likelihood of survival.
Before you initiate CPR for an infant, check that the child or infant is unconscious. You must tap or shake the person. However, do not shake an infant. Determine if the body is responsive or not by flicking the sole of the baby or stroking them gently. Start CPR right away if you do not see any movement.
When performing CPR on an infant, check the airway of a child or infant, slightly tilt the head back, and lift the chin. Babies have periodic breathing patterns. So pay close attention while checking your breathing.
If there is no breathing, you can start CPR immediately. Check the situation well, as young children often face a blocked airway from a foreign object. You need to do first aid for choking instead of CPR.
Choking infants
Abdominal thrusts help choking children and adults only. Abdominal thrust can damage internal organs that are fragile and in the development stage. If the back blows do not dislodge the blockage, you must use chest thrusts.
If back blows are unsuccessful, then the rescuer must perform up to five chest thrusts. Check whether each thrust has relieved the airway obstruction or not. Identify the same compression point and give up to five chest thrusts. Place the infant’s downwards across the thigh of the rescuer. Treat the children and adults in a sitting or standing position.
If a baby who is choking on something becomes unconscious, lower them to the ground and start CPR. Open the baby’s mouth after each set and look for the blockage. Remove it if you can.
Read More: The Importance of Compression-only CPR for Infants and Children
Find a class for CPR training
There are several CPR training classes available locally. The main task is finding a reliable provider who is certified, has skilled instructors, and offers convenient training. Look for nationally recognized CPR training providers nearby. In addition to certification, it is also crucial to recertify timely to administer life-saving skills. If your certification lapses, you will not be able to resuscitate, which might not only be disappointing for you but also for the patient.
What should you remember about child or infant CPR?
There are several scenarios where CPR can save an infant’s life. A child is more prone to choking as compared to an adult. Although we do not think about it, a scary scenario of a child not breathing; however, the best thing to do is to prepare yourself ahead of time instead of avoiding thinking about what can scare you.
The primary way for a baby to learn is through sensory input. This makes them more prone to pacing small objects in their mouth. Small pieces of food are also dangerous. These include hot dogs and nuts. All of these items are dangerous and might need a rescue kit. Thus, learning CPR for infants and children can save lives.
Knowledge is empowering, so learning CPR can provide the knowledge to act confidently during emergencies.
Conclusion
The CPR steps for a child and an infant are similar; however, they vary considerably. These simple steps prepare you for emergency situations with a child or infant. Be fully prepared and complete a comprehensive training course like CPR for infants. These are convenient and thorough, and they give you the confidence you need to save young lives.
