CPR for Infants

Resuscitation technique for babies under 1 year

Step by Step

For a baby who is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call emergency services, ideally with a phone on speaker, and start CPR at once. Give 5 initial rescue breaths: seal your mouth over the mouth and nose, and give gentle puffs just enough to make the chest rise. Then compress the lower half of the breastbone with two fingers, about one third of the chest depth, at 100 to 120 per minute, in cycles of 30 compressions to 2 breaths. Never shake a baby or press on the soft spot of the skull. An AED with infant pads or attenuation can be used if it arrives. Cardiac arrest in infants is usually caused by breathing problems, so effective breaths are as important as compressions.