What to do if your baby is choking

If an infant is choking you will notice that they are unable to cry, cough, or sometimes breathe.

So what do you do? Here are life-saving steps you can follow.

Step 1: Lay the child down along your forearm & thigh and support their head. Give up to 5 back blows between their shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.

Step 2: Turn the infant over and check their mouth. Remove any obvious obstructions with your fingertips.

Do NOT sweep the mouth with your finger as this may push the object further down the throat.

Step 3: If back blows fail to clear the obstruction, try chest thrusts. These are similar to chest compressions, but sharper & delivered at a slower rate.

Lay the infant face-up on your leg, place two fingers on the lower part of the breastbone and give up to five chest thrusts.

Step 4: Check the mouth again. If the obstruction has not cleared, you can call for assistance on 0700 395 395 or 0738 395 395.

REPEAT steps 1 to 3, re-checking their mouth after each step until help arrives or the infant becomes responsive.