Needs
...and love will have some type of medical emergency during which they will need help to survive. Whether something gets stuck in the airway or the heart stops beating, lost minutes can be fatal. The best way to be prepared for something like this is to know how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
If you have a baby under a year old that seems to be struggling for air and might even have
started to turn blue, what would you do? If you knew CPR, you could very possibly save a life.
First, you will need to assess the situation. Look, listen, and feel for breathing. If the baby is not breathing but is moving its arms and legs, lay the baby face down in your lap toward your feet. Be sure to support the baby's head, and make sure the head is lower than its body. Perform five back blows between the baby's shoulder blades. This should dislodge anything that is stuck in its airway. Now, turn the baby over and preform five chest thrusts, by placing your third and fourth fingers a half inch below the nipples in the center of the chest and making compressions a half-inch deep. Next, look into the baby's mouth for any foreign object. If you see anything in the baby's mouth, stick your finger into the baby's mouth to remove the foreign object. If you don't see an object, then repeat the process. If the baby becomes unconscious, then call 911.
Try to stay calm because if you lose control, you won't be able to help. Now, if the baby is not breathing or moving, you will need to gently tap him/her on the shoulder and shout. If there is no response, you will need to begin infant CPR. To do this, you will need to place the baby on its back. Tilt the head back slightly to open the airway. Make sure you don't tilt the head too far, or you could hurt the neck. If the baby is still not breathing, cover his/her mouth and nose with...
View Full Essay
