First Aid - Know The Basics

Thursday 21st of March 2013 | Category: Pregnancy News | Written by: Siobhan Thomas

Everywhere I look at the moment the subject of children's first aid seems to be there in some form or another. Yesterday in the news there was a heart-warming (and in my case tear-jerking) clip from CCTV footage in an Australian supermarket, showing a member of the public giving life-saving mouth to mouth to a 2 year old girl. On Monday in the US a mother revived her 2 month old baby using CPR - what was truly remarkable was that she was only able to do this as a result of 2 incredible schoolboys giving her instructions on how to do so.

We need first aid skills: none of us should be exempt

It is easy to reassure ourselves that the professionals (paramedics, doctors etc.) are all we have (or need) to cope with emergency situations. Or that we just wouldn't allow our children to choke on a penny, burn themselves on the hob or fall into a pond. But an ambulance doesn't arrive instantaneously, babies can choke on regurgitated milk and a child can drown in a flower pot containing rain water. My point here isn't that we're all living with a ticking time bomb of potential fatal accidents, rather that it can/could/might happen to your child or to a child that you care for one day. Basic home first aid is light years away from treatment provided by the professionals, and the first port of call in any emergency situation is to contact the emergency services or ask someone else to do so. However, administering the correct first aid procedures for your situation whilst you wait for help could still mean the difference between life and death.

Why aren't more parents first-aid trained?

It is easy for many of us to bury our heads in the sand over learning first-aid - particularly if we have not experienced an emergency situation with our children. I think I was guilty of this up until our second daughter had a sudden unexplained episode - at the age of 7 weeks she stopped breathing. She was in my arms at the time and by some miracle we happened to be at a baby clinic where I used to get her weighed every few weeks. I obviously had help immediately but I was really distressed afterwards by the thought that had it happened at home I wouldn't have known what to do. We were given infant CPR training at the hospital before being discharged but I felt afterwards that I hadn't absorbed any of it as I hadn't slept for 2 days. My husband and I then enrolled on a formal First Aid for Children course which left us feeling much more confident about dealing with any such situation again in the future. But too many of us wait until we've had a 'scare' before taking the time to do these things - in much the same way as we delay buying our first burglar alarm until we've had an intruder in the house.

Earlier this month, a 13 year old boy collapsed after playing in a football match. He was given CPR by a parent and went on to have heart surgery and survived. The boy's coach has called for all children to be given first aid training so that people being able to help in these situations is the norm. In his words: "It's one of those things that you don't really know how important it is until it happens."

Time is one of the biggest factors preventing us from 'getting round' to doing a First Aid course or refreshing our knowledge. As a parent of 2 pre-school children I can definitely relate to this, but again, the potential benefits of equipping ourselves with this knowledge by far outweighs the time it takes to learn.

2 online resources for boosting your first aid awareness

A charity called 'Millie's Trust' was set up after the tragic loss of 9 month old Millie Thompson, it raises money to improve awareness of paediatric first aid and also funds first aid courses for parents and carers who are unable to afford them themselves. The Millie's Trust Facebook page has more than 70,000 'likes' and they regularly provide information on their courses around the country, safety tips and first aid videos. The stories that other people share on the site are moving and have motivated many people to stay up to date with their first aid training.

The British Red Cross runs courses around the country ranging from 2 hours to full days and courses specialising in paediatric first aid. Their website has a huge amount of information on first aid and they even offer a free mobile app for dealing with medical emergencies, which I highly recommend.

The simple point is:

A medical emergency involving your child could happen at any time, equipping yourself with the knowledge to deal with it is easier and more affordable than ever before. It could prevent a potential tragedy and none of us can be too busy for that.