Surgery Encyclopedia | Bon Secours St. Francis Health System

CPR - Infant - Series

Check For Breathing

1. Check for responsiveness. Shake or tap the infant gently. See if the infant moves or makes a noise. Shout, ?Are you OK??

2. If there is no response, shout for help. Send someone to call 911. Do not leave the infant yourself to call 911 until you have performed CPR for about 2 minutes.

3. Carefully place the infant on their back. If there is a chance the infant has a spinal injury, two people should move the infant to prevent the head and neck from twisting.

4. Open the airway. Lift up the chin with one hand. At the same time, push down on the forehead with the other hand.

5. Look, listen, and feel for breathing. Place your ear close to the infant?s mouth and nose. Watch for chest movement. Feel for breath on your cheek.

Check for breathing

Infant Not Breathing

6. If the infant is not breathing:

Cover the infant?s mouth and nose tightly with your mouth.
Alternatively, cover just the nose. Hold the mouth shut.
Keep the chin lifted and head tilted.
Give 2 breaths. Each breath should take about a second and make the chest rise.

Infant not breathing

Chest Compressions

7. Perform chest compressions:

Place 2 fingers on the breastbone -- just below the nipples. Make sure not to press at the very end of the breastbone.
Keep your other hand on the infant?s forehead, keeping the head tilted back.
Press down on the infant?s chest so that it compresses about 1/3 to 1/2 the depth of the chest.
Give 30 chest compressions. Each time, let the chest rise completely. These compressions should be FAST and hard with no pausing. Count the 30 compressions quickly: ?1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30, off.?

8. Give the infant 2 more breaths. The chest should rise.

9. Continue CPR (30 chest compressions followed by 2 breaths, then repeat) for about 2 minutes.

10. After about 2 minutes of CPR, if the infant still does not have normal breathing, coughing, or any movement, leave the infant to call 911.

11. Repeat step 9 until the infant recovers or help arrives.

If the infant starts breathing again, place them in the recovery position. Periodically re-check for breathing until help arrives.

Chest compressions

Review Date: Jul 08, 2009
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, Clinic. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- 2008 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.