Baby Diaries, A Guide for New Mothers: Part 10 - Dealing With Serious Injuries

A continuation of the Baby Diaries series

As a brand new mother I initially felt slightly nervous when I was alone with my new baby. I couldn’t help feeling slightly inadequate and was unsure that I could handle it correctly should an emergency with my baby arose. I did eventually take a first aid course, and I must admit that this made me feel better able to cope with not only my own children, but other kids and young people left in my care.

In this our last article in the series, we will look some ways in dealing with serious accidents. Of course, it goes without saying that you should always call the emergency services, but what you do while they’re on their way may be the difference between life and death for your child.

Think calmly

In an emergency, you need to be able to hold your nerve and avoid panicking. If there’s anything obvious that you can do (like removing a blockage in the airway or pressing down on a wound for example), do that instantly and call the emergency services. Don’t give your child anything to drink and if there’s an obvious breakage, do not move the child around more than utmost necessary (to avoid further injury). Make sure that you learn how to check your baby’s pulse so that you can easily do so when necessary. It may be easier to find your child’s pulse on his/her neck rather than on the inside of the wrist. I could never find that one, maybe I just didn’t know how to check for it.

Resuscitation

While the ambulance is on its way, if your baby stops breathing, it is important for you to keep air passing through his/her lungs. This will allow oxygen to get to vital organs through the blood moving around to the rest of the body. Shake her/him on the arm gently and call her/his name. If you do not get a response, lay the infant on a flat, hard surface on their back and think, A, B, C.
• A – Airway. Place one hand on the forehead and the other under the infant’s chin. Lift the head so that the chin is tilting upwards and check inside the mouth for any obstruction in the throat area. If there is, remove this.
• B – Breathing. Put your face and ear close to the infant’s mouth with your head turned towards his/her chest. Use your senses of hearing and feeling for the breath on your face, and your sense of sight to see if the chest is moving up and down. If baby is not breathing, it’s time to help him/her do so.

ARTIFICIAL VENTILATION

Put your mouth over his/her nose and mouth and blow a breath gently into both. When you see the chest rise - Stop! Remember that your chest and lungs are much bigger than baby’s, if you blow one of your complete breaths into him/her this will be way too much. It is important therefore, that you stop when the chest rises. Allow the chest do go down then repeat. Do this five times, allowing a natural break between puffs. It’ll come naturally to you because you know the rhythm of your baby’s breath.

Now you’ve taken care of the breathing, you also have to check for a heart beat or circulation.
• C – Circulation. Press your finger gently to your baby’s pulse and check that there is a beat indicating that blood is properly circulating around your baby’s body and to the vital organs that need it. If there is no pulse you have to attempt chest compressions.

CHEST COMPRESSIONS

Imagine that there is a line drawn from one of baby’s nipples to the other. Place your fore and middle fingers under this line. Do not place your entire hand on baby’s chest or you will break his/her ribs which, in turn, will damage organs.
Quickly check the space between the end of your little finger to the first line, and do not press down harder than that distance.
Do at a rate of about two presses per second. Do this five times. After the fifth press, give one breath. Five chest compressions – per one breath. Continue doing this while checking for pulse and breath. This will keep your baby’s blood circulating to vital organs and his/her heart beating while help arrives. If your baby’s pulse returns, stop compressions and keep doing the artificial breaths. When everything returns to normal, lay your baby in the recovery position and wait for help.

THE RECOVERY POSITION

Lay the infant on its side with the chin tilted upwards. Bend both elbows. Take the arm that’s under the child’s body and bring the hand (palm facing upwards) about six inches from his/her face. Take the other arm and lay the hand (palm facing downwards) under baby’s face to support it in the position. Leave the bottom leg to lie straight out, but bend the top leg slightly at the knee. This will support baby’s position until help arrives. Keep checking the breathing and pulse to make sure that they’re both stable.

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