How should you perform infant CPR (two-rescuer technique)?

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Multiple Choice

How should you perform infant CPR (two-rescuer technique)?

In infant CPR with two rescuers, the preferred method is to position both thumbs on the center of the chest, with the fingers wrapped around the infant’s back to support it, forming a two-thumb encircling grip. Press straight down to about 1.5 inches (4 cm) at a rate of about 100–120 compressions per minute, and allow full chest recoil after each compression. One rescuer maintains the chest compressions in this encircling grip, while the other rescuer delivers rescue breaths with a bag‑valve mask or similar device. This technique provides stable hand placement, better control of depth on a very small chest, and allows continuous compressions while breaths are given. Using the heel of a hand on the chest is not appropriate for infants because the chest is small and fragile; a heel is too large and can overcompress or injure the chest, and it’s harder to maintain proper depth and recoil or to coordinate with breaths. The two-thumb encircling method is designed specifically for the infant’s anatomy and the two-rescuer workflow.

In infant CPR with two rescuers, the preferred method is to position both thumbs on the center of the chest, with the fingers wrapped around the infant’s back to support it, forming a two-thumb encircling grip. Press straight down to about 1.5 inches (4 cm) at a rate of about 100–120 compressions per minute, and allow full chest recoil after each compression. One rescuer maintains the chest compressions in this encircling grip, while the other rescuer delivers rescue breaths with a bag‑valve mask or similar device. This technique provides stable hand placement, better control of depth on a very small chest, and allows continuous compressions while breaths are given.

Using the heel of a hand on the chest is not appropriate for infants because the chest is small and fragile; a heel is too large and can overcompress or injure the chest, and it’s harder to maintain proper depth and recoil or to coordinate with breaths. The two-thumb encircling method is designed specifically for the infant’s anatomy and the two-rescuer workflow.

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