How to Perform Infant CPR: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents and Caregivers

Knowing how to perform infant CPR means having a clear order of actions ready before you ever need them. This guide walks through that order for an infant under 1 year old: checking the scene, calling for help, positioning, compressions, breaths, and continuing until help takes over. You need no prior training to follow it. It is a reference, not a substitute for practicing on an infant manikin in a certified class. Guideline details here reflect American Heart Association (AHA) and American Red Cross recommendations as of 2026, and you should confirm them with your instructor, since guidance is updated periodically.

Step 1: Check the scene and see if the infant responds

Before you touch the infant, look around. Water, electrical cords, traffic, a hot stove, or a fallen shelf can hurt you too, and a rescuer who becomes a second victim cannot help anyone. If the area is unsafe and you can move the infant safely, do so. Otherwise, make it safe first.

Next, check for a response. Tap the bottom of the infant's foot firmly and call their name, or shout, "Are you okay?" Do not shake an infant. Shaking can cause serious injury to a baby's head and neck, and it does not help you assess them.

Then look at the chest for no more than 10 seconds. You are checking whether the infant is breathing normally. Three outcomes matter:

Breathing normally and responsive: No CPR is needed. Keep watching and call for medical advice as appropriate.

Not breathing at all: Begin the steps below.

Only gasping: Treat this as not breathing. Gasps are irregular, snoring-like or gulping sounds, and they can continue for a short time after the heart stops. They are not normal breathing, and an infant who is unresponsive and only gasping needs CPR.

If you are unsure whether the breathing is normal, act as though it is not. Ten seconds is a ceiling, not a target. If you can tell sooner, move on.

Step 2: Call 911 and get an AED

The next move depends on whether anyone is with you. EMS (emergency medical services) is the team dispatched when you call 911, and an AED (automated external defibrillator) is a portable device that analyzes the heart rhythm and can deliver a shock if one is needed.

If someone else is there

Point at one specific person and give clear instructions: "You, call 911, put it on speaker, and bring an AED." Naming a person works better than shouting a general request, because bystanders often assume someone else is already acting. Speaker mode matters because the dispatcher can coach you through CPR while both of your hands stay on the infant.

If you are alone

For an infant who is unresponsive and not breathing normally, AHA and Red Cross guidance has lone rescuers give about 2 minutes of CPR first, then call 911. Infant cardiac arrest is more often caused by a breathing problem than by a primary heart problem, so oxygen and circulation from CPR come first. If you have a phone nearby, you can start CPR with it on speaker and call at the same time. Check the latest AHA and Red Cross guidelines, since this is the kind of detail that can be revised.

AED pads for infants

Infant-sized pads, or a pediatric dose attenuator that reduces the energy delivered, exist for AEDs and are preferred for infants. If only adult pads are available, do not wait. Follow the AED's voice prompts and current AHA guidance, and make sure the pads do not touch each other. For smaller chests, pads are often placed on the front and back of the chest.

Step 3: Position the infant on a firm, flat surface

Lay the infant face up on a table, the floor, or another hard, flat surface. A couch, bed, or your lap is too soft. Soft surfaces absorb the force of your compressions, so the chest never gets compressed deeply enough to move blood.

If you are using a table, keep one hand on the infant at all times so they cannot roll off. The floor is often simplest and safest.

Keep the head and neck in a neutral position, with the face pointing at the ceiling and the head not tilted far back. An infant's airway is narrow and flexible, and over-tilting can kink it and make breathing harder rather than easier. Think of the position as the infant looking straight up, not sniffing the air. Slightly extending the head comes later, during breaths.

If you can do it in a few seconds, remove or open bulky clothing from the chest. This helps in two ways: you can place your fingers accurately, and you can see the chest rise when you give breaths. Do not spend time on buttons or snaps if they slow you down. Pulling clothing up and out of the way is enough.

Position your own body so you can compress without leaning awkwardly. Kneel beside the infant, near the chest, with your shoulders over your hands as much as the small size allows. Good alignment makes compressions easier to repeat over several minutes.

Step 4: Give 30 chest compressions

Compressions are the core of infant CPR. They push blood to the brain and heart when the heart is not doing so on its own.

Single rescuer: two-finger technique

Place two fingers in the center of the chest, just below the imaginary line between the nipples, on the lower half of the breastbone. Keep your other hand on the infant's forehead to hold the head neutral, or rest it beside them.

Push straight down about 1.5 inches, roughly one-third the depth of the chest. Compress at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute. The beat of "Stayin' Alive" is a common tempo cue, and it keeps many people in range. Count out loud: it keeps the rhythm and tells you when you have reached 30.

Recoil and pauses

Let the chest return fully to its normal height between compressions. This is called recoil, and it allows the heart to refill with blood. Leaning on the chest between pushes reduces the blood flow produced by the next one. Also keep interruptions short, since blood flow stops each time you stop pressing.

Two rescuers: two-thumb encircling technique

When two rescuers are present, the one doing compressions uses the two-thumb encircling-hands technique. Wrap both hands around the infant's chest so your fingers support the back, and place both thumbs side by side on the lower half of the breastbone. Press down with the thumbs. Compared with two fingers, this method generally produces better pressure and more consistent depth, and it is less tiring.

Many people worry about hurting the baby. Compressions of the right depth can occasionally cause injuries such as bruising or a rib fracture, but that risk is far smaller than the risk of doing nothing. Do not go lighter than 1.5 inches, and do not use adult depth.

Step 5: Open the airway and give 2 rescue breaths

After 30 compressions, open the airway with a gentle head-tilt, chin-lift. Tilt the head to a neutral or slightly extended "sniffing" position, then lift the chin with your fingertips on the bony part. Do not press on the soft tissue under the chin, because that can push the tongue back and block the airway.

Take a normal breath, then cover the infant's mouth and nose together with your mouth, forming a seal. If you have a pediatric pocket mask, use it. Give each breath over about 1 second, only until you see the chest begin to rise. Then let the chest fall and give the second breath.

Infant lungs are tiny. Do not blow hard or fast, and do not empty your own lungs. Small puffs from your cheeks are enough. Forceful breaths can push air into the stomach, which makes vomiting more likely and works against you.

If the chest does not rise, take these steps:

Reposition the head into a neutral or slightly extended position.

Check that your seal on the mouth and nose is complete.

Try one more breath.

If the chest still does not rise, go straight back to compressions rather than spending more time on breaths.

Before each later set of breaths, glance in the mouth. If you can see an object, remove it. Do not sweep blindly with a finger, which can push something deeper.

Giving breaths is the hardest part for many first-time rescuers, and it is the part most improved by practice on a manikin. If you are unable or unwilling to give breaths in an emergency, continuing compressions is better than stopping.

Step 6: Continue cycles until help arrives or the infant recovers

CPR is a repeating loop. With one rescuer, give 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths, over and over. With two rescuers, the ratio changes to 15 compressions and 2 breaths, since two people can deliver breaths quickly and keep blood moving. As of 2026, these ratios are what AHA and Red Cross guidance call for, but confirm them in a current class.

Switch to avoid fatigue

Good compressions are tiring, and quality drops as you tire, often before you notice. If a second rescuer is present, swap the compressor about every 2 minutes, or about every five cycles. Make the swap in under 10 seconds, with the new compressor ready beside the infant.

Use the AED when it arrives

As soon as an AED is available, turn it on and follow its voice prompts. Attach the pads, let the device analyze, and stand clear if it advises a shock. Resume CPR right away when it tells you to. Do not stop CPR to set up the AED if another person can do it while you continue.

When to stop

Continue until one of these happens:

The infant starts breathing normally, moving, or crying.

EMS or another trained responder takes over.

An AED advises you to stop.

You are too exhausted to continue safely.

If the infant starts breathing again but remains drowsy, keep them on their back and watch closely until help arrives.

Step 7: Know when it is choking instead, and get trained

Not every emergency calls for CPR. If an infant is awake but cannot cry, cough, or breathe, and may look panicked or turn blue, that is choking. The response is different: give 5 back slaps followed by 5 chest thrusts, and repeat. Hold the infant face down along your forearm with the head lower than the chest, support the jaw, and strike between the shoulder blades with the heel of your hand. Then turn them face up and give thrusts with two fingers in the same spot used for compressions. If the infant becomes unresponsive, begin CPR.

Never do blind finger sweeps. Remove an object only if you can see it.

Practice before you need it

Reading builds understanding, but hands-on practice on infant manikins builds correct depth, correct rate, and the confidence to act under stress. An instructor can watch your hand position and give feedback you cannot give yourself. Taylored Instruction offers American Red Cross and AHA CPR and First Aid courses in Vancouver WA, the Portland metro area, and San Luis Obispo CA, with instruction tailored to parents, caregivers, and workplaces.

Plan to recertify roughly every two years. Certifications from both organizations typically expire after two years, and guidelines and techniques are refined over time.

Imperfect CPR beats no CPR: next steps for your household

If an infant is unresponsive and not breathing normally, you do not need perfect form to help. Compressions that are a little off still circulate more blood than none, and a rescuer who acts gives the infant a better chance than one who hesitates. Do what you can, and keep going until help arrives.

Reread these steps from time to time, especially before a new baby arrives or when a grandparent or nanny takes on regular care. Share the sequence with everyone who looks after your child. Then practice it properly: Register for a CPR, First Aid, or Lifeguarding class and gain the confidence and skills to respond when it matters most. Don't wait until an emergency happens. Get the life-saving certification you need today.