How to Perform Infant CPR

Knowing how to perform infant CPR is vital. With luck, you will never have to know how to give it and never have to give it to a baby. But just in case, you should take a class in infant CPR. While these instructions may help you review infant CPR, they are not supposed to take the place of taking a CPR class sponsored by the Heart Association.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Before Starting CPR

1. Grasp your baby's ankle and firmly tap your baby's foot, yelling at your baby to wake up.
2. Yell for someone to call 911 and come back to you. Yell even if you are alone. Perhaps someone will hear you and call 911.
3. Move your baby to a firm surface such as a table. The crib mattress or a couch is not a firm surface and will not be effective for CPR.
4. Grasp your baby's forehead and chin. Lift the chin slightly to open your baby's airway and move his tongue out of the way. It is a subtle movement, and you are simply bringing your baby's mouth to an upright position.

Give 2 Breaths

5. If your baby does not respond, lean over and put your ear near the baby's nose and mouth to listen for respiration. At the same time, watch for the chest to rise. Count for 5 seconds.
6. If your baby is not breathing. cover his mouth and nose with your mouth and give a quick puff of air. The puff should last about 1/2 a second and you should see the chest rise a little bit. Do not give your baby a full mouthful of air. If your breath does not go in, reposition the head.
7. Turn your head, get a fresh breath of oxygen and give another small puff of air.

Give 30 Chest Compressions

8. Draw a line between your baby's nipples, and go 1 finger length lower than the nipple line. Hold your index finger up, and use your other 3 fingers to do chest compressions.
9. Draw fingertips into an upright position. Keep your hand on the baby's forehead and keep the infant's airway open.
10. Using your fingers, do 30 chest compressions as fast as you can. You need to go in about 1/2 to 1/3 the depth of the chest. Do approximately 100 chest compressions per minute. Chest compressions are designed to do the same thing the heart does, move oxygenated blood through the body.
11. Wait 2 minutes or 5 cycles of compressions if you are by yourself and don't know whether anyone heard cry for help. Pick up your baby, supporting the head and spine and take him with you to a phone. Call 911, putting your phone on speaker, if possible.
12. Continue to alternate chest compressions and puffs of air until 911 arrives, someone else arrives to take over CPR or you are too physically exhausted to continue.

Tips & Warnings

• This information does not replace an American Heart Association CPR class.