How to Do Infant CPR

How to Do Infant CPR Dr. Travis Stork: You mentioned CPR, but you’re going to walk us through that. The reason that it’s so important for all parents -- to either be CPR-trained or be scheduled to go to one is minutes count, within four minutes, the baby’s brain can start to have permanent damage. Those seconds count and unfortunately, oftentimes, the first reaction is one of -- obviously fear. And fear, what does it do? It causes paralysis. This information -- Jim is about to show you -- can help save lives. So Jim, walk us through -- let’s say you come up to your baby and they’re unconscious. Dr. Jim Sears: Yeah, maybe you don’t know what happened, they’re unconscious, you first want to check, are they even breathing? And you check to see if they’re breathing. Listen for breathe, see if they’re chest is moving. If she is not breathing, that’s when you start your CPR. If there is somebody else around, Travis, go call 911, or actually, Travis is there, so you say, “Hey, you do CPR and I’ll call 911!” But, you know, if somebody is there, you call 911. If you’re alone, you don’t leave the baby to call 911 yet, you want to start CPR first, okay? It’s very important. So, not breathing, you’re going to give two rescue breathes, either you put your mouth over the nose and mouth, and you’re going to want to see the chest move. Okay? You give two breathes, and then you start your chest compression. And you -- well, I like to do it by grabbing a baby basic -- around the waist, I’m using my two thumbs and just -- you can do 30. Dr. Travis Stork: And you’re compressing about a third to a half of the way through, so again, enough pressure to get that heart muscle to pump blood. Dr. Jim Sears: So that’s about 30 and you’re going to go back to do two more breathes, like that -- Jaclyn, do you want to try this? Do you want to see what it feels like. Dr. Travis Stork: Maybe, you should wipe your spill off first. Jaclyn: Compress? Dr. Jim Sears: No, I was going to say that. I’m just going to do the chest compression. I want to see if you want to feel and see what it feels if you do chest compressions. Jaclyn: Sure. Dr. Jim Sears: And this is about the right pace. Dr. Travis Stork: It’s quicker than people imagine. Whenever you watch people give see CPR, the one thing we always notice is people don’t press hard enough. And they don’t press fast enough. And infant CPR could be very different than adult CPR, typically adults go into cardiac arrest where compressions are more important. With infants, oftentimes, it’s something with the breathing, so those rescue breathes are absolutely essential. And the caveat, we’ve talked about this before the show -- if you’re at home, and you have no clues how to give CPR, then call 911 first. But if you’re trained in CPR, which I encourage every parent to be trained, you shouldn’t miss your two minutes. If you’re alone, of CPR, then call 911. And obviously, if someone else can call 911 for you, that’s the best-case scenario. But, the most important thing here is, kids do well, right, Jim? Dr. Jim Sears: Yeah. Dr. Travis Stork: Kids really do, this is -- just so that you mentally are ready to flip that switch if, God forbid, that day comes, because I’m used to it as an ER doctor, I see babies in distress and so, you’ve got to be focused. Dr. Jim Sears: You don’t want to panic. That’s the last thing your baby needs, is for you to be panicking. Dr. Lisa Masterson: And you said Nicole did the class? Erica: Nicole already took the class. Dr. Travis Stork: Congrats, Nicole. Dr. Jim Sears: Way to go. Dr. Lisa Masterson: Good job. Dr. Travis Stork: And so, one thing I notice certainly with all the questions, you all have asked it away, you’re going to be great mothers. Jaclyn: Yeah, thank you very much. Dr. Travis Stork: No doubt about it.