Several years ago I took a health class that included certifications in CPR for adults, children and infants. There were also lessons in how to relieve a choke on an adult, a child or an infant. At the time, I thought it was interesting information, but never really thought – oh I’ll need to know this later and yet, oddly enough not three months after I took the class and received my certifications – I did need that information.
I was working as a waitress in a restaurant and I typically worked the early morning shift on the weekends because I was in high school the rest of the week. One morning, a couple was dining at one of the tables in my station and they had their young baby with them. As I was serving a table near theirs, the mother started screaming – the baby was choking.
I reacted just the way the certification training had taught me too. I helped to dislodge the bit of sausage the baby had gotten a hold of and cleared the air passageway. The parents were grateful and I was a bit stunned. I didn’t even think about it before I acted – and in recalling that event now, I realize that if I had tried to think it through before I did it – I might not have been able to help the baby.
When you have an infant and toddler at home, learning how to cope with a choke is an important and while I can walk you through some of the steps here, I’d advise that you take a class on this. Learning infant CPR and how to relieve a choke may be the best thing you ever do when it comes to protecting your baby.
Relieving an Infant Choke
When it comes to relieving a choke for your baby, the first thing you must do is to not panic. You need to be able to remove the foreign object and open up their airway as soon as possible. The following steps are what you will need to do:
- Check to see if the baby is actually breathing or not, you want to listen for breath sounds and if the baby isn’t screaming, chances are they aren’t getting air
- If you’re in a public place or with someone else, ask for someone to call 911, if you’re alone, take the baby with you and dial the phone – try to use a speakerphone if you can so that your hands are free to keep trying to remove the object they are choking on
- Roll the baby over so they are face down and laying lengthwise along your forearm with their head pointed towards the ground – this will increase the chances of gravity helping you to get the object out, you should do this only if slipping a finger in to your baby’s mouth and throat doesn’t help you pull the object out quickly
- Brace the baby firmly and deliver five firm blows to the baby’s back with the palm of your hand striking for the area between the baby’s shoulder blades
- If your baby doesn’t start crying and the object isn’t loosened, flip them over face up on your other arm and place three fingers on the center of the baby’s chest to deliver five chest thrusts
- Check again to see if you can see the visible blockage in their mouth, you may have loosened it forward enough to be removed now
- If your baby is still not breathing, try to ventilate them with mouth to mouth – when doing this with a baby, you need to place your mouth over the baby’s nose and mouth and make a tight seal and breath into them
- Continue to try and remove the object while you wait for emergency help to arrive
Again, I can’t stress enough how important it is that you take a class in infant CPR and choke relief. The life you save, may be your own child’s. Have you taken a class in infant CPR and choke relief?
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