How to Stop a Choking Infant

Video Transcript

CAPT. JOE BRUNI: Hi. I am Capt. Joe Bruni with over 30 years of firefighting and emergency medical service experience. I am going to cover the steps of what to do when you suddenly find an infant choking. You must quickly take an action when infant is choking by delivering back blows and chest compressions until the object in the infant either clears or the infant becomes unresponsive. You will either sit or kneel at this point when you determine that the infant needs attention for choking. If you are sitting or kneeling, you are able to use your leg as a ledge to work with the infant. You will quickly take the infant supporting the head and turn the infant over on your exposed thigh and deliver five back blows and see if the object clears. If the object has not cleared, you will turn the infant over, again, supporting the head and deliver chest compressions. The chest compressions can be given through clothing, however, it would be better if you could bare the chest quickly. After we would bare the chest, we would deliver five quick chest compressions and see if the object has cleared. If the object has not cleared, we would then perform the back blows again in sequence of back blows and then back to chest compressions until either the object clears or the infant becomes unresponsive. To cover the steps when an infant is choking, action must be taken quickly to prevent respiratory arrest in the infant. We would quickly cradle the infant sit or kneel, support the head and turn the infant over, deliver back blows and deliver chest compressions alternately until the object clears or the infant becomes unresponsive.