St John's Ambulance video shows parents how to perform CPR on babies

The first aid charity has reminded the public that CPR is different for babies and adults

St John’s Ambulance has released a video demonstrating how to perform CPR on babies, after a poll showed that the majority of parents do not know how to revive an unconscious child.

The video urges parents to immediately call 999 if their child is not responsive.

However, the first aid charity stressed that a parent who is on their own should do one minute of CPR before calling for help.

The footage instructs parents to put their baby on flat surface and tilt their head back, cover their baby's nose and mouth and give five puffs of breath, each lasting around a second.

They should then press two fingers in the centre of the chest and pump 30 times at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute.

Parents should repeat the sequence with two puffs and 30 pumps until help arrives.

“Puff, puff and 30 more pumps... repeat this until the ambulance comes,” parents are told in the 2-minute video featuring children’s story characters including Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Gill.

A quarter of parents surveyed by the first aid charity said they had learned first aid at the workplace, however, it said that CPR for children is different to adults. For example, the baby's nose and mouth must be covered when doing puffs, and two fingers should be used to pump the chest.

St John’s Ambulance released the video as part of its Nursery Rhymes Inc campaign, following the success of its 2015 push to raise awareness about choking which it said saved 46 children.

Sue Killen, chief executive of St John Ambulance, said: "We hope the song will stick in everyone's heads. We're asking everyone to share the video so that all parents, grandparents and carers can learn what to do in those crucial minutes after a baby has stopped breathing."