INFANT CPR
Infant CPR is a little different from adult and child
CPR, but the concepts are still the same. All the "rules"
of when to start or stop CPR, etc. still apply.
- Establish unresponsiveness in the infant. An effective way
to do this is to tap the bottom of the baby's feet. Infants don't
like this, so if they are able, it should wake them up.
- If someone else is around have them call for help.
- Open the airway using the head tilt/chin lift method. Do not
hyper-extend the baby's neck. Infant airways are like straws;
if you bend them too far back, it can close the airway off again.
Place the baby's neck in a neutral position-their chin shouldn't
be touching their chest, but it shouldn't be pointing straight up
in the air either.
- Look, Listen, and Feel for breathing.
- Give two slow breaths, placing your mouth over the infant's
mouth and nose. Infants are primarily nose breathers, so it is
important to cover their nose as well. When giving the breaths,
only give enough to see the chest rise. Remember, you can give
too much air.
- Check for a pulse. This is done by placing two fingers in
the brachial area just above the infant's elbow. You should be
able to feel a pulse in between the muscle and the bone.
- If a pulse is present, but the infant is not breathing, give
a rescue breath every three seconds.
- If there is no pulse, give 5 chest compressions. Compressions
are done using two fingers and pressing down one finger width
below the nipple line. An easy way to find this point is to place
one finger on the imaginary line between the nipples on the breast
bone, with two fingers below this finger. Then pick the finger
up that is on the imaginary line. Compressions should be ½
to 1 inch deep, and at a rate of approximately 120 per minutes.
- After delivering the 5 chest compressions, give one breath.
- Repeat this cycle of 5 compressions to 1 breath 20 times.
This should take approximately one minute.
- After 1 minute, stop and reassess the pulse and breathing
status. If help has not been called, go call for help now. Since
infants are small, it is convenient to take them with you. Continue
the compression/breath cycle, reassessing pulse and breath conditions
after every few minutes.
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