Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a technique anyone can learn to help save a life. Although many online sites provide basic instructions, it's best to take a class in person from a qualified professional. The American Heart Association and Red Cross offer classes all over the country. CPR has different guidelines for adults, pregnant women, children and infants. There are particular infant CPR procedures to follow if you come across an infant in distress. An infant is considered 12 months old or younger.
Check for Responsiveness
The first step is to check whether the infant is responsive, says First Aid Web Inc. You can tap the infant's shoulder, chest or flick the bottom of the foot. If there is no response, gently tip the infant's head back slightly, place your ear near the mouth and look toward the chest for about five seconds. You should hear or feel breathing and see the chest rise and fall. Place your first two fingers on the brachial artery, located on the inside of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Feel for a pulse. This can be challenging in an infant. These steps are important; it's dangerous to give CPR to someone who is breathing or has a pulse. During an actual class, your CPR instructor can show you how to find the pulse in an infant. If there is no pulse, start CPR right away. If treating a child or adult, call for help first. With an infant, CPR must begin immediately. If possible, carry the infant to the phone while giving CPR. If that's not possible, perform infant CPR for one to two minutes and then call for help.
Give Two Rescue Breaths
If no breath is detected, give the infant two breaths. With your mouth or a mouth guard, make a tight seal around the infant's nose and mouth. The amount of breath you use for an infant is just a cheekful. Don't blow hard, just gently enough to see the chest rise. If the chest doesn't rise, re-tilt the head and try again. If air still doesn't go in, there may be a blockage in the airway. Gently open the infant's mouth. Look for any obstructions and sweep the mouth with your finger to try to clear the airway. Try the breaths again. If no air goes in, give five back slaps to the upper back in combination with compressions (see below) to help remove any obstructions.
Back Slaps and Compressions
If no air is going in and you believe the infant has choked or has a blocked airway, sit in a chair and place the infant on your thigh at an angle so the head is lower then the legs. Put the infant stomach-side down and give five back slaps with an upward (towards the head) motion with the heel of your hand. Then turn the infant on her back and give five compressions with two fingers. Keep going back and forth until the infant's airway clears.
Give 30 Compressions
If you are able to get air in and the infant has no pulse, give chest compressions. The University of Washington says to give 30 chest compressions at a rate of 100 per minute. It may help to count "one one thousand, two one thousand," to help create a rhythm. It doesn't need to be perfect, just at a speed that would be similar to the infant's normal pulse. For an infant, use two fingers placed right below the nipple line. Only press down about one-third to one-half of the depth of the infant's chest. After each compression, allow the chest to rise to its normal position.
Continue with Breaths and Compressions
Keep giving two breaths and 30 compressions until the infant responds, help arrives or you are too exhausted to continue.
