Below is the full detailed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) sequence for infants (babies under 1 year old) and children.
It's highly recommended that every parent goes on a first aid course, as it makes this process much easier to understand and remember.
In a life-threatening emergency, dial 995. If your child is coughing or wheezy, visit the hospital immeidately or your GP for advice.
Child and baby CPR steps
1. Ensure the area is safe
Check for hazards, such as electrical equipment or traffic.
2. Check your child's responsiveness
Gently stimulate your child and ask loudly: "Are you all right?"
3a. If your child responds by answering or moving
Leave them in the position they were found in (provided they're not in danger).
Check their condition and get help if needed.
Reassess the situation regularly.
3b. If your child does not respond
Shout for help.
Carefully turn the child on their back.
If the child is under 1 year old:
Ensure the head is in a neutral position, with the head and neck in line.
At the same time, with your fingertips under the point of your child's chin, lift the chin. Do not push on the soft tissues under the chin as this may block the airway.
If the child is over 1 year old:
Open your child's airway by tilting the head and lifting the chin.
To do this, place your hand on their forehead and gently tilt their head back.
At the same time, with your fingertips under the point of your child's chin, lift the chin. Do not push on the soft tissues under the chin as this may block the airway.
If you suspect a neck injury, tilt the head cautiously, a tiny bit at a time, until the airway is open. However, opening the airway takes precedence over a probable neck injury.
4. Check their breathing
Keeping the airway open, look, listen and feel for normal breathing by putting your face close to your child's face and looking along their chest.
Look for chest movements.
Listen at the child's nose and mouth for breathing sounds.
Feel for air movement on your cheek.
Look, listen, and feel for only 10 seconds before concluding that they are not breathing. Normal breathing should not include gasping breaths.
5a. If your child is breathing normally
Turn them on their side.
Check for continued breathing.
Send or go for help – do not leave your child unless absolutely necessary.
5b. If your child is not breathing or is breathing infrequently and irregularly
Carefully remove any obvious obstruction in the mouth.
Give 5 initial rescue breaths (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation) – see below.
While doing this, note any gag or cough response – this is a sign of life.
Rescue breaths for a baby under 1 year
Ensure the head is in a neutral position and lift the chin.
Take a breath, then cover your baby's mouth and nose with your mouth, making sure it's sealed. If you cannot cover both the mouth and nose at the same time, just seal 1 with your mouth. If you choose the nose, close the lips to stop air escaping.
Blow a breath steadily into the baby's mouth and nose over 1 second. It should be sufficient to make the chest visibly rise.
Keeping their head tilted and chin lifted, take your mouth away and watch for the chest to fall as air comes out.
Take another breath and repeat this sequence 4 more times.
Rescue breaths for a child over 1 year
Tilt the head and lift the chin.
Close the soft part of their nose using the index finger and thumb of the hand that's on their forehead.
Open their mouth a little, but keep the chin pointing upwards.
Take a breath, then place your lips around their mouth, making sure it's sealed.
Blow a breath steadily into their mouth over about 1 second, watching for the chest to rise.
Keeping their head tilted and chin lifted, take your mouth away and watch for the chest to fall as air comes out.
Take another breath and repeat this sequence 4 more times. Check that your child's chest rises and falls in the same way as if they were breathing normally.
5c. Obstructed airway
If your kid is having difficulties breathing properly, the airway may be onstructed.
Open the child's mouth and remove any visible obstruction. Do not poke your fingers or any object blindly into the mouth.
Ensure there's adequate head tilt and chin lift, but the neck is not overextended.
Make up to 5 attempts to achieve effective breaths (enough to make the chest visibly rise). If this is still unsuccessful, move on to chest compressions combined with rescue breaths.
6. Assess the circulation (signs of life)
Look for signs of life. These include any movement, coughing, or normal breathing – not abnormal gasps or infrequent, irregular breaths.
Signs of life present
If there are definite signs of life:
Continue rescue breathing until your child begins to breathe normally for themselves.
Turn the child on their side into the recovery position and send for help.
Continue to check for normal breathing and provide further rescue breaths if necessary.
No signs of life present
If there are no signs of life:
Start chest compressions immediately.
Combine chest compressions with rescue breaths, providing 2 breaths after every 30 compressions.
7. Chest compressions: general guidance
To avoid compressing the stomach, find the point where the lowest ribs join in the middle, and then 1 finger's width above that. Compress the breastbone.
Push down 4cm (for a baby or infant) or 5cm (a child), which is approximately one-third of the chest diameter.
Release the pressure, then rapidly repeat at a rate of about 100-120 compressions a minute.
After 30 compressions, tilt the head, lift the chin, and give 2 effective breaths.
Continue compressions and breaths in a ratio of 2 breaths for every 30 compressions.
Although the rate of compressions will be 100-120 a minute, the actual number delivered will be fewer because of the pauses to give breaths.
The best method for compression varies slightly between infants and children.
Chest compression in babies less than 1 year
Do the compressions on the breastbone with the tips 2 fingers, not the whole hand or with 2 hands.
The quality (depth) of chest compressions is very important. If the depth of 4cm cannot be achieved with the tips of 2 fingers, use the heel of 1 hand – see advice for children, below.
Chest compression in children over 1 year
Place the heel of 1 hand over the lower third of the breastbone, as described above.
Lift the fingers to ensure pressure is not applied over the ribs.
Position yourself vertically above the chest and, with your arm straight, compress the breastbone so you push it down 5cm, which is approximately one-third of the chest diameter. The quality (depth) of chest compressions is very important.
In larger children or if you're small, this may be done more easily by using both hands with the fingers interlocked, avoiding pressure on the ribs.
If nobody responded to your shout for help at the beginning and you're alone, continue resuscitation for about 1 minute before trying to get help – for example, by dialling 995.
8. Continue resuscitation until
Your child shows signs of life – normal breathing, coughing, movement of arms or legs.
Further qualified help arrives.
Learning CPR is an important part of first aid training, and its rapid administration is critical, thus having a qualified first aider on hand who can remain calm under pressure is quite useful.
When dealing with emergency circumstances, becoming trained in first aid procedures can make you feel more comfortable and confident since you will know the most efficient ways to deal with the problem. An added benefit of this is that the people around you, be it children, adults and others around you, will also feel more reassured knowing that there are trained people on site.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the application of first aid principles and how they can help you, your organisation and those around you, we offer a comprehensive e-learning courses on first aid.
These are courses which can be accessed at any time to help train you and those around you at times which suit them, developed by experts to assist with practical first aid training.
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