This 2-Minute Video Teaches the Basics of Infant CPR

No parent wants to see their baby stop breathing, but if the unthinkable happens, would you know what to do in such an emergency?

In the UK, it was found about a quarter of parents didn’t know what to do, so UK charity St. John Ambulance put together a musical video to teach parents the basics of baby CPR.

Sue Killen, the chief executive of St. John Ambulance, tells iTV that the reason the video was created was to ensure parents knew what to do in an emergency situation if their baby stopped breathing. The charity conducted a survey and found alarming results that one in four parents didn’t know how to perform CPR on an infant.

“We know that a major barrier to parents learning is that baby CPR frightens them,” she said, “so we’ve removed the fear factor and made it reassuring and as easy as possible to learn.”

St John Ambulance hope the video will be shared widely so that every parent, grandparent and caregiver will know what to do in an emergency.

The video features nursery rhyme characters like Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill with a catchy tune that teaches how to perform CPR on an infant. The first step is to call an ambulance and then follow the next sequence of steps.

1. Place the infant on a flat surface and tilt their head back.

2. Cover their mouth and nose with your mouth and give five small puffs of air that last one second each.

3. Use two fingers in the center of their chest and pump 30 times at a rate of 100 to 120 pumps per minute.

4. Repeat the sequence till help arrives.

In Australia, to gain better confidence about knowing how to care for your infant in an emergency, Kids First Aid offer 2 hour courses that teach parents and caregivers how to respond calmly to 10 of the most common first aid situations. The courses are conducted by experienced paramedics and help parents know what to do in an emergency.

Of course this video by St. Johns Ambulance is a must see for all parents and caregivers, but doing a course can also assist with confidence as a parent. Knowing these life-saving procedures is a must for all parents and caregivers.

St. Johns Ambulance have also put together a video on what to do if your child chokes. The Chokeables is an animated film that teaches the correct technique to help a choking child. The video has been watched seven million times and has been credited to helping 46 children throughout the UK who had a choking emergency.