Infant Resuscitation: Being Prepared for Every Situation

The first moments after a person stops breathing are critical. As such, engaging in immediate resuscitation as a substitute for the heart’s normal activities until your infant resumes breathing, or until medical care arrives, is essential. If you find yourself in such a situation, you will need to act calmly and quickly, performing step after step. These simple steps should be in every parent’s repertoire.

The stages of resuscitation

Stage 1: Determine your infant’s level of consciousness
First, you need to determine whether your infant is breathing but unconscious, or isn’t breathing at all. To do so you need to:
● Identify whether there is anything blocking your infant’s airway that needs to be released
● Stimulate your infant’s body by lightly pinching their extremities or raising your voice near their ear
● Hold your infant horizontally, as most infant breathing takes place via the diaphragm, and look & listen for breathing movements and sounds

If your infant responds or shows signs of breathing, keep them stable and call Magen David Adom (101) at once. If your infant is not breathing, begin resuscitation, as detailed below and ask a bystander to call MDA for you. If you are alone, resuscitate for two minutes and then call MDA. the first few minutes after loss of breathing are most critical.

Stage 2: Prepare your infant for the resuscitation process
● Lay your infant down on their side and remove any excretions from their mouth and nose
● If there is an airway blockage, avoid sticking your finger down their throat, so as not to push foreign objects into their lungs

Stage 3: Resuscitate for two minutes

● Lay your infant on their back on a hard surface. Their head should be straight and parallel to the rest of their body, with their mouth slightly upturned
● Imagine a line connecting the infant’s nipples. Place two fingers beneath that line and close to one another, in the center of the infant’s chest
● Press down on the infant’s chest to a depth of 4 cm. You need to make 100 compressions in a minute and should count out loud as you press down
● Make 30 compressions and then breath into the infant’s mouth twice, while closing their nostrils with your mouth as well
● Make sure the infant’s chest is rising as you breathe. If it does not, check that the airway is not blocked
● Check if the infant has a pulse by placing two fingers in the socket that connects the wrist to the hand (thumb-side). If the infant is not breathing and does not have a pulse, continue resuscitating until MDA arrives. If the infant is breathing on their own, hold them in your arms and wait for MDA to arrive.

Safety guidelines - The infant environment

● Do not downplay your infant’s capabilities. Assume that they can move faster than you think
● Never leave an infant unsupervised on a bed, table, changing table, or other surface they can fall off of
● Always use safety belts when your infant is in a car seat, bouncer, high chair, stroller, or other contraption
● Select age-appropriate toys for your infant. Don’t offer heavy, breakable or too-small objects. Ensure there are no loose parts, sharp edges, exposed batteries, or other dangers on said toys
● Store chemicals and cleaning agents out of infants’ reach
● Sit near your infant while they eat. Do not allow them to crawl while drinking from a bottle
● Avoid tying pacifiers, jewelry, or any other object around your infant’s neck or wrist