Why you should know CPR

I have not had to perform CPR on anyone. I have a professional CPR (infant, child, adult, AED, and Oxygen) certification for my job. I will likely never use it, but there is security in knowing what to do.

I am pregnant and I was at the labor and delivery section of the hospital and noticed a CPR class being advertised for infant and child CPR certifications for $25. Check with your local hospitals. They are always running classes for their staff members and they should have some open to the public. If an adult or child is not getting oxygen to the brain in 4 minuets they will experience brain damage. For infants it only takes 90 seconds. If you can afford to do so, then you should opt for the CPR certification. The professional covers infant and adult.

All the best...

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Jonathon, this is always a good reminder for parents. I always thought I was pretty level headed and up on my emergency procedures but when my son choked on a jawbreaker stuck in his windpipe - that we thought was a malt ball - I panicked and did the wrong thing as my son turned red and couldn't breathe. I whacked him on the upper back and turned him upside down. It was only after a few seconds, (which felt like minutes) that I realised I should sweep the airway with my finger. He was fine after that.

I was a wreck after that incident.

As a doula, it behooves me to have infant first aid under my belt, so it's one of my presonal and professional goals to get trained within 12 months. St. John's Ambulance offers courses for parents and caregivers all the time. To help with the cost of the course, see if your family, friends, colleagues and/or neighbours would be interested in setting up a training together.

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I had to perform CPR on my son shortly after he turned one. He started choking on his dinner. I ripped him out of his high chair and started performing it. Everything happened in slow motion and I was completely calm until he started breathing again. Once he started crying - I started crying & shaking. Taking a CPR class was the best thing I ever did! Now that my son is three I am thinking I need to take a refresher class. I think every parent and caregiver should learn CPR.

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When my son was home for the first night after he was born, he stopped breathing. I had CPR training, but had not had a refresher that year, and I totally flipped out. Thank God for military training, my husband jumped right in and saved his life. While at the hospital afterwards (we stayed for a week trying to figure out what happened to him) they gave me another course. I'm still not confident in my abilities, but I posted a sign about it in his bedroom, so that I can look at it if need be. I've also encouraged my mother to learn it, and she did after realizing how important it is. My son was just a newborn, and never choked on anything, his brain just forgot to keep him breathing when he was asleep. CPR is an absolute necessity, and EVERY parent should take it before their child is born. People think my CPR sign is strange, but I know that I'll have the information in front of me should I blank out on what to do.

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mamaloo,
if your son was under 12months (approx) then what you did is correct. Unless they're changed the standards (yet again), treating infant choking involves 5 back blows follow by 5 chest thrusts.
Infant is defined to be under 12 months or roughly what you can hold with one arm.
I've taught CPR for roughly 6 years (in Canada) but that was some time ago. I've been trained since I was a pre-teen.

Sabrina
The sign is not strange at all. I use to eat and breath first aid/CPR stuff so the basics come to me as easily as breathing. The more advanced stuff... I still need refreshers like everyone else.
Above all, don't forget to call an ambulance. It's almost more important than CPR.

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I'm hoping you're using the term "CPR" loosely, as in some of the cases above, the Heimlich maneuver or just rescue breathing (no chest compressions) are what is needed, full on CPR can actually stop a heart that's beating, so should only be used when a person has no pulse. This is why a class (CPR classes, generally cover rescue breathing and Heimlich) is actually so essential.

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As a former child care provider, I had to be CPR and first aid certified. I took a refresher class annually. When my son was born prematurely, one of the things the hospital required prior to his discharge was a CPR class, which they provided free of charge. My MIL and I took the class, my husband was exempt since he works law enforcement and had just completed his CPR referesher.

The hospital also provided a laminated 2-sided poster with the steps for infant and child CPR. I kept that poster right in the living room, which is where we spent most of our time that first RSV season. Thankfully, I have never had to perform any of those procedures on either of my children, yet!

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