Basic Life Support For Infants Less Than 12 months

Check the area for DANGER to yourself and others

Check your baby for any RESPONSE

• Infants and children should never be shaken.
• Squeeze baby's shoulder.
• If no response...

Send for HELP

(call 000 for an ambulance- a bystander can do this for you)

Open AIRWAY

• Lie baby on their back and place the head in a neutral position.

• Support the lower jaw at the point of the chin with your fingers.

• Open mouth, look for any objects and remove anything visible with your fingers.

• If the throat is blocked with fluid such as vomit roll baby onto side to drain the fluid.

Check for normal BREATHING

• LOOK for chest movement.
• LISTEN & FEEL for warm air coming out of nose and mouth.

IF NOT BREATHING OR ABNORMAL BREATHING START CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR)

1. View the centre of the chest; place 2 fingers on the lower half of the breastbone (sternum).

2. Start chest compressions. Push the chest down by 1/3^rd of the depth of your baby’s chest. Give 30 chest compressions and then give 2 breaths. Continue with this, aiming to give 100 chest compressions per minute.

3. If your baby becomes responsive or if normal breathing returns turn them onto their side, watch for their breathing and stay with them until the ambulance arrives. Call for help if you haven’t already done this.

4. If your baby is still unresponsive and not breathing normally after 1 minute of CPR and an ambulance has not been called, take your baby with you to the nearest telephone and continue to do CPR and call an ambulance:

5. Continue CPR until the ambulance arrives or your baby begins to breathe normally.

• Any attempt to resuscitate is better than none