While most people are aware of the different steps involved when it comes to doing CPR on an adult, very few are aware of the steps involved when carrying it out on a child. Now, the steps are basically the same. However, the exact way of doing it i somewhat different with an infant.
If what you have on your hand is an infant, the first thing that you would need to do is verify whether the baby is responsive or not. You can do this by stroking the the feet of the infant. If there is no reaction whatsoever, make sure you have someone call for 911. If the baby is showing signs of choking, allow the child to cough the object out. However, if there is a visible blockage but the child is no longer coughing, turn the baby over to his stomach and carefully do chest thrusts or back blows in order to dislodge the object. Once the object has been dislodged, check for pulse and check for breathing. If there is pulse and breathing, you need to put the baby in a recovery position. This is done by having the arm closest to you at right angle with the body. The palm of the said arm should be facing upwards. Now, put the other palm on the baby’s chest and have the knee on the same side pulled towards you. This would allow the baby to roll towards you. Have the free hand, the one that you placed on the infant’s chest earlier, rest under the head and make sure that the patient’s mouth is open. Make sure that the chin is away from the chest in order to keep the air way clear.
Now, if the baby is not showing signs of breathing and is not exhibiting any pulse, you would need to do the A-B-C of CPR. First, you have to open the airway by tilting the baby’s head back and opening the mouth. heck for breathing. If there is none to be found, pinch the nose and proceed with two rescue breaths. Let go of the nose to let the air out. If, while doing rescue breathing, the baby’s child is not moving, there might be some blockage that is not readily visible. If that is the case, go back to the steps in dislodging the object.
Check for the pulse once you are done with the rescue breaths. If there is none, proceed with the chest compressions. Keep in mind that the body of a child is smaller than the adult and is, consequently, more frail. That said, you would need to use two to three fingers from one hand instead of the heel of your palm. There is also no need to interlace your fingers as you would need your other hand, to support the infant’s head. With two or three fingers, compress the center part of the infant’s chest below the nipple area. As with an adult, you would need to administer 100 compressions per minute at a depth of 1 to 1 1/2 inches. After 30 cycles of compressions, do another set of rescue breaths. You might need to repeat all of these five times. After the fifth time, the baby should start showing signs of responsiveness. If that is not the case, you might need to make use of a defibrillator or continue with the cycle until a paramedic arrives.
Things like these are easier to do if you have undergone CPR certification. Companies like Citywide CPR can be depended upon when it comes to CPR trainings and AED management.
