American Red Cross Child & Infant CPR

According to the American Red Cross guidelines Child CPR is administered to any victim under the age of 8. Although some of the material in the next lesson may seem repetitive, we strongly recommend that you do not skip ahead as there are crucial distinctions that apply to children's rescue efforts.

The first thing to remember about Child CPR is this: in children cardiac arrest is rarely caused by heart failure but rather by an injury such as poisoning, smoke inhalation, or head trauma, which causes the breathing to stop first. And since children are more resilient than adult’s statistics have shown that they tend to respond to CPR much better if administered as soon as possible.

If the child is unresponsive and you are alone with him, start rescue efforts immediately and perform CPR for at least 1 to 2 minutes before dialing 9-1-1. Before you call an ambulance, immediately check the victim for responsiveness by gently shaking the child and shouting, "Are you okay?" DO NOT shake the child if you suspect he may have suffered a spinal injury.

If the child is clearly unconscious, remember your A-B-C.

"A" is for AIRWAY. A child's breaths may be extremely faint and shallow - look, listen and feel for any signs of breathing. If there are none, the tongue may be obstructing the airway and preventing the child from breathing on his own.

• Look Listen and Feel for breaths

Exercise extra caution when you open the victim's air passage using the head tilt/chin lift technique  This will shift the tongue away from the airway.

If the child is still not breathing after his airway has been cleared, you will have to assist him in breathing

"B" is for BREATHING. If the child remains unresponsive and still not breathing on his own, pinch his nose with your fingertips or cover his mouth and nose with your mouth creating a tight seal, and give two breaths.

• With your mouth, cover the child's nose and mouth

Keep in mind that children's lungs have much smaller capacity than those of adults. When ventilating a child, be sure to use shallower breaths and keep an eye on the victim's chest to prevent stomach distention. If this happens and the child vomits, turn his head sideways and sweep all obstructions out of the mouth before proceeding.

After you've given the child two breaths and he remains unresponsive (no breathing, coughing or moving), check his circulation

"C" is for CIRCULATION. Check the child's carotid artery for pulse by placing two fingertips and applying slight pressure on his carotid artery for 5 to 10 seconds.

• Carotid artery

If don't feel a pulse then the victim's heart is not beating, and you will have to perform chest compressions

When performing chest compressions on a child proper hand placement is even more crucial than with adults. Place two fingers at the sternum (the bottom of the rib cage where the lower ribs meet) and then put the heel of your other hand directly on top of your fingers.

• Proper hand position

A child's smaller and more fragile body requires less pressure when performing compressions. The rule to remember is 1 hand, 1 inch. If you feel or hear slight cracking sound, you may be pressing too hard. Apply less pressure as you continue.

Count aloud as you compress five times, followed by one breath. Perform this cycle 20 times - five chest compressions followed by one breath - after which remember to check the victim's carotid artery for pulse as well as any signs of consciousness.

DO NOT FORGET TO DIAL 9-1-1

If there is no pulse, repeat a complete cycle of 5 compressions/1 breath 20 times before checking for pulse and breathing. If none are present, continue performing CPR until help arrives. If the child regains an active heartbeat (you detect a pulse) but is still not breathing, rescue breaths at the rate of 1 breath every 3 seconds need to be administered (remember to pinch the nose to prevent air from escaping). After the first rescue breath, count three seconds and if the child does not take a breath on his own, give another rescue breath.

• Minimum age: 5
• Cost: $65.00 + Book