Infant CPR Special Considerations
This article focuses on the special considerations to take into account when performing infant CPR and the classes being offered for this particular kind of procedure. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving process that parents can do for their baby when heartbeat and breathing have stopped due to various reasons. This procedure has two basic components and these are rescue breaths and chest compressions. The rescue breaths are needed to deliver oxygen to the baby's lungs and the chest compressions are required to stimulate blood circulation. Brain damage may occur in as short as four minutes after cardiac arrest and death may follow two minutes later. Thus, it is advisable for parents to obtain training in infant CPR, which could mean the difference between life and death for their baby.
Some of the primary reasons for cardiac arrest in infants are suffocation, poisoning, lung disease, head trauma, serious injury, excessive bleeding, electrical shock, drowning and choking. Many of these reasons can actually be prevented. This could be done by providing a safe environment for the baby to play and this includes not providing him or her with things that can cause choking or toys that have toxic chemicals or sharp edges. The baby should be kept away from dangerous parts of the house like electrical outlets, medicine cabinets and stove tops. It is also advisable not to leave the infant alone because he or she could be more dexterous and more mobile than you thought.
Along with CPR courses, parents should also enroll in a first aid training course that is designed for the treatment of infants. Because babies are so delicate, they require special rules when applying such procedures. When performing first aid for an infant, the first step is to determine if the baby is responsive. If the baby fails to respond, the next step is to call for help if you are alone and to ask someone to call 911 for you. You will have to carefully position th infant on their back but care should be taken if there is reason to believe that the infant has spinal injury. Then the next step is ensure that the airway is not blocked and then determine if the infant is breathing. If there is no breathing, it is time is to provide two rescue breaths carefully while making sure that the chest rises. After this, chest compressions have to be performed by using two fingers on the breastbone just under the nipples. The other hand should be placed on the forehead of the infant to tilt the head back.
It should be pointed out that in infant CPR, performing the chest compressions right after the rescue breaths is essential. The rhythm of the chest compressions should be fast and there should be no interruptions. After 30 chest compressions, the next step is to provide two more rescue breaths, also ensuring that the chest rises. Then 30 chest compressions should be given again but after two minutes of alternating between rescue breaths and chest compressions, it is time to call 911 if nobody is there to do it for you.
