Free first aid courses in health care are always great to have knowledge of. When working with children, knowledge of specific training or 1 st response first aid course programs that are specific to children are extremely beneficial. Babysitting and CPR classes near me will touch on infant and child CPR as well. AED first aid training for parents also covers the basic lifesaving skills, or BLS, for infant and children.
There are some similarities in infant and child CPR techniques. When you take 1st aid CPR training, you learn that the ratio for CPR is thirty chest compressions followed by two breaths. When doing CPR on children or infants, the ratio remains the same. An infant is considered anyone between the ages of zero to twelve months of age. A child, for CPR purposes, is considered anyone over twelve months of age and under the age of 12. Of course if a young teen is very small, child CPR can be used successfully in older children as well.
One of the biggest differences in CPR between children and infants are the positions of the hands during chest compressions. When performing CPR on an infant, only two fingers should be used during chest compressions. When performing CPR on a child, only one hand should be used during chest compressions. This is how child and infant CPR differ from adult CPR, which
uses two hands during chest compressions. Newer CPR techniques teach us that if it is not safe to perform resuscitation breathes after thirty chest compressions, chest compressions can be used continuously without breathes to sustain life and keep blood and oxygen pumping through vital organs. This task can be tiring, so be sure that someone has called 911 to minimize the time until emergency help arrives. You can also trade off between chest compressions with another individual if there is someone there to help with CPR.
The amount of breath that you breathe in will also vary between child and infant CPR training. With an infant, just a slight breath – until you see the chest move – can be sufficient. With child CPR, you can give a fuller breath, similar to adult CPR. Advanced CPR certification and training that is specific for children and infants will help teach these techniques.
