Basic Steps for Child & Infant CPR

A: Airway

• Lay the infant or child down on the ground or floor with his back down. Shout for someone around you to call an ambulance while you begin CPR. The first step is to check the airway to determine if the child is breathing. You do this by first looking to see if the infant's or child's chest is rising and falling. If it is, the child is breathing, but if not you need to move on to checking whether or not any air is coming out of the child's nose. Place your face or your finger just below the nostrils and see if you feel anything. If you do, then the child is breathing. If not, you will need to move on to the next step.

B: Breathing

• Use your less dominant hand to gently tilt the infant's or child's forehead backward while you use your dominant hand to raise the chin. The head should be tilted backward slightly, but gently. For infants, place your mouth over the nose and mouth at the same time. For a child, just place your mouth over his mouth. Blow gently but firmly into the infant's or child's mouth to inflate the lungs, and then remove your mouth to let the air come back out. Do this 2 or 3 times and then check for a pulse (you'll learn how to do this in the course). If you feel one, you just need to continue breathing for the little person. Administer 20 breaths and then check for a pulse again. Continue doing this until help arrives. If at any time you don't feel a pulse you need to move on to the last step in the CPR process.

C: Circulation

• If the child or infant has no pulse (heart beat), you will need to begin chest compressions to get blood circulating through the body. Find the middle of the chest by moving one fingertip down from the infant's or child's nipple line. Place two fingers there and press down 1/2-inch for an infant; for a child use the heel of your hand and press down 1 inch. Press down five times in a row and then give the infant or child a breath as you did in Section 2. Continue this pattern, stopping once every minute to check for a pulse. If at any time you feel a pulse you can stop the compressions. Keep working on the child or infant until help arrives.