Infant CPR Steps

CPR is an abbreviation used for the term Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. It is a technique used to save the life of a victim in many cases of emergencies, which include cardiac arrest, choking or near drowning! When it comes to infants less than a year old, CPR may be required as a result of lack of oxygen, choking or an accidental near drowning! Therefore, one must be very careful about the things around an infant. Even small toys can result in an accident which may require CPR emergency. It is always best to call 911 without wasting any time, but until help arrives, you must also know some essential infant CPR steps to contribute your bit to the situation. Doing something is better than doing nothing at all, especially when it is a matter of life and death!

When to Perform a CPR on an Infant

Performing CPR on an infant involves a lot of care as it is an infant you are dealing with! Before you go for it, check for the following.

• Is the baby unconscious?
• Is the baby breathing?
• Is the pulse rate normal?

Be sure of the breathing of the baby. Even if you have the slightest doubt that the infant is not breathing normally, or not breathing at all, then immediately start with the CPR steps. If you have someone with you, ask the person to call 911 immediately and explain them the scenario. You, on the other hand, should attend the baby. If the answer to all the aforementioned questions is NO, then move on to the CPR steps mentioned below.

Instructions to Perform CPR on Infants

The American Heart Association has made some changes in the CPR guidelines in 2010. Any person, whether trained or untrained can perform a CPR in case of emergency. However, this is applicable to CPR steps for adults, children and infants only! Newborns do not come under this advise and medical attention should be asked for instantly! Earlier, the American Heart Association followed the acronym of ABC, which has now changed to CAB (Circulation, airway and breathing). But because most of the cardiac arrests in infants occur due to choking, it is important to check for airway obstructions in the baby's mouth or nose and perform infant choking steps. However, if the baby isn't breathing without any obvious reason, then the most important rule is to never shake the baby in a situation like this! For starters, just stroke the baby gently and call out his/her name loudly so that he/she responds. Check for the corresponding movements. Start on with the CAB instructions, if you see no response from the infant. If you have someone with you, ask that person to call 911. Or else, perform the CPR for about 2 minutes and then call 911. Have a look at the steps to performing CPR on infants mentioned below.

Step#1: Circulation

• Place the baby gently on a flat surface, like a table or the floor. CPR should always be done placing the victim on a flat surface.
• Gently place two of your fingers in the middle of the chest of the baby. To understand the exact point, imagine seeing a horizontal line going through the chest of the baby, dividing his/her nipples! You need to place your fingers (2 fingers of one hand) in the center of the chest just below this horizontal line!
• With the help of the two fingers, gently compress the chest of the baby. Dig your fingers about 1.5 inches deep into the chest and pump about 100 compression within a minute, that is about 16 compressions per 10 seconds. You can also count aloud to keep a track.

Step#2: Airway

• After the compressions to restore blood circulation in the infant, the next step would be to clear the airways of the infant allowing him/her to breathe. You can do this after 30 compressions by gently tilting the head of the infant back by lifting his/her chin with one hand and pushing the forehead down with the other hand.
• Make sure that you don't tilt the head way too much. It may prove to be harmful for the infant.
• Within 10 seconds of lifting the chin of the infant, check for movements in the chest and breathing. Do this by placing your ears and cheeks in front of the baby's mouth and nose.

Step#3: Breathing

• If there are still no signs of breathing, then the next step would be to cover the infant's nose and mouth with your mouth and provide the infant with rescue breathing!
• Slowly breathe into the infant and blow gentle puffs of air by taking a second for a single breath! While you do this, also check for the rise in the infant's chest.
• If you see the baby's chest rising, then give the second rescue breath. If the chest is not rising, then you will have to repeat step#2 and then again go for rescue breathing!
• It is advisable to give the infant two rescue breaths within a period of every 30 compressions. Continue to do this until help arrives!

Although theoretical knowledge about CPR steps is better than no knowledge at all, getting yourself trained in CPR would also prove to be useful in getting more confident in the process. After all, what is the harm in learning how to save a life? Good luck!