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Warning!
This is not a replacement for a first aid
or CPR course, it is just a quick guide in first aid and CPR techniques. You should go to
your local first aid organisation and do a course in these life-saving skills.
Fortunately, it is rare for a child's
heart to stop, but there are dangers in airway blockage and inadequate breathing.
Artificial ventilation and chest compression can be performed on older children just as
for adults, but they must be done slightly faster, and with lighter pressure. The
techniques require some modifications for small children and babies.
Calling for Help (Infant)
If unresponsive, a lone rescuer should provide rescue breathing for one minute and then
call your local emergency telephone number. This is in contrast to an adult where
the ambulance is called first.
Call first with adults.
Call fast with infants and children.
Checking for a baby's breathing
 Open the airway by gently lifting the chin and tilting the head. It
helps to support the head slightly. Look, listen, and feel for breathing. A small pillow
under the shoulders will let the head tilt back gently
DO NOT, if clearing an obstruction with a finger, touch the back of a young
child's throat. If the child is suffering from an infection of the airway, this can cause
swelling and, possibly, total blockage.
Checking for a baby's circulation
It is difficult to feel the carotid pulse
in an infant so, instead, use the brachial pulse. This is located on the inside of the
upper arm, midway between shoulder and elbow. Keep the head tilted back. Place your index
and middle fingers on the inside of the arm, and press lightly towards the bone. It may
help to place your thumb on the outside of the arm. Feel for 5 seconds before deciding
there is no pulse.
Artificial ventilation for a baby
 Babies should be given artificial ventilation at twice the rate used
for adults and children, using the mouth-to-mouth-and-nose technique. Make a tight seal
around the baby's mouth and nose with your mouth, and breathe into the lungs until the
chest rises. Let the chest fall. Continue giving breaths at a rate of 30, per minute.
Chest compression
If you cannot detect a pulse, apply chest
compressions to the lower half of the breastbone. Use the adult technique for a child of
school age; for babies and small children, modify the technique and rate as below.
Remember that, in the absence of a pulse, chest compression must be combined with
artificial ventilation. Lay the baby on a firm surface. To locate the correct position,
imagine a line joining the baby's nipples. Place the tips of two fingers just below the
mid-point of this line, and press at a rate of 100-1+10 compressions per minute, to a
depth of 1.5-+1.5cm (&frac1+1; -1inch). Combine with artificial ventilation, giving
three compressions to one breath.
FOR A CHILD BETWEEN 1-8 YEARS
 Find
the correct position on the chest as you would for an adult (click
here). Using one hand only, press at a rate of 100-120 compressions per minute,
depressing the chest by2.5 - 3.5cm (1 to 1-1/2 inches).
Combine with artificial ventilations, giving three compressions to one breath.
Click here for more on CPR.
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