St John Ambulance has produced an online video guide for parents and caregivers that aims to remove the fear factor in learning to use CPR on babies.
Source: AAP
20 JAN 2016 – 11:21 AM UPDATED 20 JAN 2016 – 12:00 PM
Parents are being urged to learn baby CPR with the help of an online video.
A poll of 2000 people for St John Ambulance shows that a baby who is unconscious and not breathing is a parent’s biggest fear – but only one in four would know what to do.
In the new video, parents are urged to first call the emergency number unless they are on their own, in which case they should do one minute of CPR before calling for help.
They should cover their baby’s nose and mouth and give five puffs, each lasting around a second.
Then they should use two fingers in the centre of the chest to give 30 pumps at 100-120 per minute.
The sequence should be repeated with two puffs and 30 pumps until help arrives.
The video, which features memorable nursery rhyme characters such as Humpty Dumpty, includes a rhyme which is: “Puff, puff and 30 more pumps… repeat this until the ambulance comes.”
The campaign is called Nursery Rhymes Inc and follows last year’s The Chokeables, which taught parents how to help a choking baby.
That campaign is credited with saving the lives of 46 children.
Sue Killen, chief executive of St John Ambulance, said: “The Chokeables was a real step forward for us and the response was amazing. We’ve listened to parents and we know that they want to learn first-aid skills in a way that’s easy and memorable.
“We know that a major barrier to parents learning is that baby CPR frightens them, so we’ve removed the fear factor and made it reassuring and as easy as possible to learn.
“We’re asking everyone to share the video so that all parents, grandparents and carers can learn what to do in those crucial minutes after a baby has stopped breathing.”
Research shows that only one in four parents have learnt first aid specifically for babies.
The video will be launched online and on St John Ambulance’s Facebook and Twitter pages, alongside a TV campaign.
St John Ambulance is also offering baby first-aid courses for parents, carers and parents-to-be, costing $25 + VAT. To find the nearest course, go to www.sja.org.uk.
Please be aware that these videos are from the UK and thus the CPR guidelines are not exactly the same in Australia. Make sure you get to your local Canberra first aid course so that you can learn the exact performance techniques in Australia. Call Canberra First Aid now to book into a Canberra first aid course.