Only a third of parents in the South East would know what to do if their baby stopped breathing, despite it being their biggest fear – that’s from St John Ambulance as they launch a new campaign.
St John Ambulance has launched Nursery Rhymes Inc. – a campaign to teach parents and the wider public how to help a baby who’s stopped breathing. New research shows this is the first aid emergency parents are most worried about, yet only a third know how to help (32%).
Nursery Rhymes Inc. teaches baby CPR in a short, clear and reassuring way to help parents remember what to do in an emergency.
The campaign features everyone’s favourite nursery rhyme characters who’ve come together to create a memorable rhyme to explain the technique. Incy Wincy Spider, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, and the Cat and the Fiddle will be appearing in a TV advert struggling to write the rhyme – though they have more luck in the longer online version, which promises to make baby CPR truly unforgettable in just two minutes with a catchy song.
Nursery Rhymes Inc. follows on from last year’s award winning The Chokeables, which taught parents how to help a choking baby and is credited with saving the lives of 46 children since its launch. The video, which has had over 10 million views online, forms part of the charity’s vision that everyone should know first aid.
New research by the charity shows:
• An unconscious and not breathing child is the most frightening scenario for three out of four parents in the South East (74%)
• Yet only a third of parents in the region (32%) would know how to correctly administer baby CPR
• Nearly two thirds (63%) of parents say they know general first aid but only one in four (26%) learnt any specifically for babies
• Most parents in the South East (60%) learnt first aid through a workplace first aid course – yet baby CPR is different to adult CPR (for instance, you need to cover the baby’s nose and mouth when doing puffs, and you use two fingers to give pumps to the chest).
Sue Killen, CEO at St John Ambulance, said:
“The Chokeables was a real step forward for us and the response was amazing. We’ve listened to parents and we know that they want to learn first aid skills in a way that’s easy and memorable. That’s what inspired us to create Nursery Rhymes Inc.
“We know a major barrier to parents learning is that baby CPR frightens them, so we’ve removed the fear factor and made it reassuring and as easy as possible to learn. We hope the song will stick in everyone’s heads! We’re asking everyone to share the video so all parents, grandparents, and carers can learn what to do in those crucial minutes after a baby has stopped breathing.”
The characters of Nursery Rhymes Inc. explain the steps to saving a baby who’s unconscious and not breathing. These are:
Call 999/112 for an ambulance
If you’re on your own, you need to give one minute’s worth of CPR before you can call for help, taking your baby with you.
5 puffs
Put your lips around their mouth and nose and blow steadily for up to one second. Give five puffs in total.
30 pumps
Using two fingers in the centre of the chest, give 30 pumps at a rate of 100-120 per minute
Repeat, but with 2 puffs and 30 pumps until help arrives
To find the nearest baby first aid course, or watch more first aid videos and advice, go to www.sja.org.uk/NurseryRhymesInc.
