Infant CPR classes are important to take to know how to perform CPR correctly to an infant or a child. AHA reports that annually 6.2% of cardiac arrests outside a hospital occur in children under one year. Given the statistic, novice parents, caregivers, or professional babysitters should consider infant CPR classes to react quickly and prevent any fatal consequences.
In this article, you will find helpful information on the medical approach to infant CPR, its importance, and the possible outcomes. Additionally, all considering getting infant CPR certification have a chance to learn the theory of infant CPR and why it differs from adult CPR.
Infant CPR Classes and How it Differs from Adult CPR
If a baby does not reach for air for 4 minutes, it can sustain severe brain damage. Hence, the importance of quality CPR. But unlike CPR for adults, the procedure differs slightly when it comes to babies.
The standard procedure for giving CPR to adults requires you to use two hands centered on the chest. These protocols apply to children past the age of puberty or those weighing more than 55 kg. For small children, the protocols require the use of only one hand, while for babies, the use of both thumbs.
If you have never visited any specific infant CPR classes, the content below theoretically explains the CRP for infants, from how to spot to how to react. Still, it’s important to enroll in CPR training for infants to help the child until the first responders arrive.
Frequency of Cardiac Arrests in Infants and Children
Reports show that over 7000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happened in 2015 alone in individuals younger than 18 years old, including infants.
Normally, when a young and healthy individual has a heart attack or cardiac arrest, high-quality CPR is needed. Regrettably, though, studies suggest response in infant CPR is poor. Only 8.4% out of the total number of cardiac arrests at a young age outside the hospital we mentioned earlier, survived but remained neurologically impaired. This means that the patient remained for over 4-5 minutes without oxygen in the brain, which led to brain damage. Reacting in a timely manner, and administering high-quality CPR are very important to avoid permanent brain damage or, worse, death.
New York State reports that every 5 days, there is at least one child death report due to choking. Moreover, each year there are over 12,000 food choking reports for children. Having a CPR certification for infants is not a mandatory skill to become a parent, but given these numbers, we can only deduce that the awareness of children and infant choking is understated. That is why taking infant CPR classes can be useful.
What Causes Cardiac Arrests in Children and Infants
Children are physically most healthy, especially when compared to adults, so cardiac arrests are not that common at a young age, not to mention infant age. However, this doesn’t mean they aren’t still possible and pose a serious threat.
When it comes to the triggers of cardiac arrests in children and infants, they are divided into five major groups:
- Respiratory causes from infections: The most common as children often undergo infections like pneumonia and bronchiolitis that could easily worsen with fever and get to a cardiac arrest stage.
- Hereditary respiratory causes & Accidents: Asthma, smoke inhalation, apnea, or drowning can make a heart stop. In all cases, CPR is more than necessary.
- Cardiac issues: If the child has any inborn cardiac issues or defects, they will be prone to cardiac arrest.
- Traumatic causes: Child abuse, chest pain, head traumas, or ingestions may cause a children’s heartbeat to stop.
- Neglect: Many infants can choke on a drink or food or by inhaling or swallowing a piece of a toy. Parents must be constantly alert around children because it never takes long to cause a tragedy.
In all these cases, children have only a few minutes to remain without oxygen before it causes possible severe damage to the brain that may lead to permanent handicap. Before a child suffers a cardiac arrest, they will show some signs, and every parent or babysitter must recognise these signals and react immediately.
When To Use What You Learned In Your Infant CPR Classes
A child with obstructed breathing or cardiac arrest usually is unresponsive to the environment. The first factor that suggests the infant needs CPR is when they are not answering to your voice. Therefore, you must check their responsiveness by shouting their name, mama, or any word they may recognize at their age. If the baby doesn’t respond and it isn’t breathing normally, or at all, you must act quickly and prepare for CPR. Following all the steps you can learn in infant CPR classes.
Important Things Learned in Infant CPR Classes
What you learn in infant CPR Classes can be very important. Infants, children and adults have the same outcome if they do not receive CPR on time, and that is either permanent brain damage or death.
During cardiac arrest, the heart stops pumping blood to the rest of the body, which leaves every cell without oxygen. Not delivering enough air to the brain may lead to paralysis, speech defects, or other neurological handicaps that may last for a lifetime. However, this outcome could be prevented if only the person doing the CPR could mimic those pumps the heart makes.
For that reason, all parents, babysitters, or caregivers should take infant CPR courses to be able to react quickly in emergencies.
Infant CPR Classes Discuss Recovery and Aftercare
While you are doing CPR, it’s important to call 911 and let the EMTs take over once they arrive. Although while doing CPR, the baby is unconscious, you may inflict rib damage from the pushes, which may result in pain. The doctors will recheck their respiratory system to ensure there are no further obstructions and that the lungs continue to work properly.
Moreover, depending on how long the baby was out of breath, the doctors may have to examine the brain for any damage due to obstructed airflow. Lastly, after CPR, the infant may be feeling a bit nervous, to say the least, until they overcome the trauma. Therefore, you may expect more crying during the first few days, but doing regular things that comfort them will help you grow out of that unwanted situation fastly and effectively.
Final Words on Infant CPR Classes
Infants choking or inhaling hard objects is every parent’s worst nightmare, but also the most common cause of cardiac arrest. A baby cannot outpass the limit of more than 4-5 minutes without air, or else they face permanent handicaps due to brain damage.
Parents, babysitters, caregivers, or anyone with a baby must be well prepared for such fatal scenarios and save the infant’s life should such an emergency occur. Additionally, when hiring a babysitter, you can always ask if the babysitter possesses infant CPR certification or has visited CPR classes for infants. That will strengthen the confidence of the babysitter and the parent at the same time that the baby will be protected if anything were to happen to it.
We hope you’ve found this article about infant CPR Classes useful and that you’ve learned the importance of infant CPR. Stay educated and always be aware when around the babies.