How to Perform CPR on a Child

A stopped heart deprives the brain of precious oxygen. Do CPR - short for "cardiopulmonary resuscitation" - to help prolong life while you wait for professional medical assistance. This information is intended only as a supplement for proper training in child CPR.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Latex Gloves
• Wilderness First Aid Classes
• First Aid Kits
• Notebooks
• Safety Goggles
• First Aid Classes
• Pens

1. Tell someone nearby to call 911.

2. 

   Position the injured child on his or her back, being extremely careful not to move or twist the head, neck or spine.

3. 

   Maintain an open airway while you pinch the injured child's nose shut.

4. 

   Give two long, slow breaths, being sure to maintain a seal between your mouth and his or hers.

5. Begin CPR if the child neither is breathing nor has a pulse.

6. 

   Position the hands: Find the lower tip of the breastbone. Measure two finger widths toward the head, and place the heel of one hand in this location.

7. 

   Place the other hand on top of the first hand, interlacing the fingers of both hands.

8. 

   Lean forward so that the shoulders are over your hand.

9. 

   Push downward on the chest, using the weight of your upper body for strength. Compress five times in three seconds.

10. Give one more slow breath after the five compressions, and then do five more compressions, followed again by one slow breath.

11. 

    Perform the five-compression, one-breath cycle a total of 12 times.

12. Recheck pulse and breathing.

13. Continue repeating this entire cycle - 12 sets of chest compressions and breaths, followed by rechecking pulse and breathing - until the injured child regains a pulse, until professional medical help arrives, or until you are too exhausted to continue.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross for information on first aid classes near you.

• Maintain an open airway at all times.

• Keep the injured child's nose pinched shut when you give breaths.

• You've got a really good chance of success if the child is a drowning or lightning victim. Keep at it!

• Keep your eyes on the chest as you breathe in, making sure it rises gently, indicating that your breaths are going in.

• "Child," for these purposes, refers to people from approximately age 1 to approximately age 8, depending on speed of development.

• If breaths do not go in, retilt the head and try again. If breaths still do not go in, the airway may be obstructed. (See "How to Clear an Obstructed Airway.")

• Be careful not to give breaths that are too large, since the child's lungs are probably smaller than yours. Breathe just enough so that the chest rises gently.

• If the child has a severe injury to the mouth, then give breaths through the nose while keeping the injured child's mouth sealed shut.

• Be careful not to use too much force in compressing the chest.

• If the injured child vomits, turn the child onto his or her side and wipe out the mouth. Return the child to the supine position and continue rescue breathing.

• This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.