Every parent should know how and when to administer CPR. When
performed correctly, CPR can save a child's life by restoring breathing
and circulation until advanced life support can be provided by medical
care providers.

What CPR Is
The letters in CPR stand for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, a combination of rescue breathing (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) and chest compressions. If a child is not breathing or circulating blood adequately, CPR can restore circulation of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Without oxygen, permanent brain damage or death can occur in less than 8 minutes.

CPR may be necessary for children during many different emergencies, including accidents, near-drowning, suffocation, poisoning, smoke inhalation, electrocution injuries, and suspected sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Reading about CPR and learning when it is needed will give you a basic understanding of the procedure, but it is strongly recommended that you learn how to perform CPR by taking a course. If CPR is needed, using the correct technique will give your child the best chance of recovery.

When Is CPR Needed?
CPR is most successful when administered as quickly as possible, but you must first determine if it is necessary. It should only be performed when a person is not breathing or circulating blood adequately.

The first thing to do is determine that it is safe to approach the person in trouble. For instance, if someone was injured in a motor vehicle accident on a busy highway, you'd have to be extremely careful about ongoing traffic as you try to help that person. Or in the case of a child who touched an exposed wire and was electrocuted, you'd have to
make sure the child was no longer in contact with the wire to avoid becoming electrocuted yourself. (Use a wooden stick, like a broom handle, to move the wire away from the child.)

Once you can safely approach someone who needs help, quickly evaluate whether the person is responsive. Look for things like eye opening, sounds from the mouth, or other signs of life like movement of the arms and legs. In infants and younger children, rubbing the chest (over the breastbone) can help determine any level of responsiveness. In older children and adults, this can also be done by gently shaking
the shoulder and asking if they are all right.

The next step is to check if the victim is breathing. You can determine whether a person is breathing by watching the person's chest for the rise and fall of breaths and listening for the sound of air going in and out of the lungs. In a CPR or basic life support (BLS) course, participants practice techniques for determining if breathing or
circulation is adequate in infants and children, as well as adults. If you can't determine whether the person or child is breathing or you're unsure whether the victim has a pulse, then you should begin CPR and continue until help arrives.

Whenever CPR is needed, remember to call for emergency medical assistance. CPR courses teach you to call first (which means to call 911 or your local emergency number before providing treatment) for adult emergencies and call fast (which means to provide 1 minute of care and then call 911 or the emergency number) for emergencies in infants and children.

Three Parts of CPR
CPR has three basic parts that are distinguished by these easy-to-remember letters: ABC. A is for airway, B is for breathing, and C is for circulation.

A is for airway. The victim's airway must be open for breathing to be restored. The airway may be blocked when a child loses consciousness or may be obstructed by food or some other foreign object. In a CPR course, participants learn how to open the airway and position the child so the airway is ready for rescue breathing. The course will include what to do to clear the airway if you believe an infant or child has choked and the airway is blocked.
B is for breathing. Rescue breathing is begun when a person is not breathing. A person performing rescue breathing is essentially breathing for the victim by forcing air into his lungs. This procedure includes breathing into the victim's mouth at correct intervals and checking for signs of life. A CPR course will review correct techniques and procedures for rescuers to position themselves to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to infants, children, and adults.
C is for circulation. Sometimes rescue breathing alone is enough to keep a child alive until help arrives. However, if you have properly administered rescue breathing, but still see no other signs of life, chest compressions are needed to start circulation. This procedure involves pushing on the chest to help circulate blood and maintain blood flow to major organs. Chest compressions should be coordinated with rescue breathing. A CPR course will teach you how to perform chest compressions in infants, children, and adults and how to coordinate the compressions with rescue breathing.

Taking a CPR Course
Qualified instructors use videos, printed materials, and demonstrations on mannequins representing infants, children, and adults to teach proper techniques for performing CPR. The American Heart Association's basic life support course that includes CPR lasts about 6 hours and is sometimes held in two separate sessions. The courses teach CPR procedures for infants (under 1 year old), children (1 to 8 years old), and adults.

Participants practice the techniques on mannequins and have opportunities to ask questions and get individualized instruction. The final test for the course is a combination of demonstrating CPR skills and taking a written test.

Because CPR is a skill that must be practiced, it's wise to repeat a course at least every 2 years to maintain skills. Repeating the course also allows you to learn about any new advances or discoveries in CPR techniques.

Your local chapters of the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross are good sources for finding a CPR course in your area.

How To Do CPR

This is intended as a supplement to information learned in a complete CPR course instructed by the American Heart Association. It is not to be used as your only guide for CPR unless in emergency situations. Please use this only as a guideline for the proper steps in CPR. For more information please contact your local American Heart Association for class information.

Infant CPR-New Born-1yr

Child CPR-Age 1-8yrs.

Adult CPR-Age 8+yrs.