It’s mid-afternoon, and you’re propped up on the sofa with your baby in your arms, having just finished feeding. She seems satisfied, calm, and pretty much ready to settle down for her afternoon nap.

But before you put her down for the afternoon, you need to get her cot ready. So, you leave your baby settled in a comfortable position on the sofa for just a moment, and head into her bedroom.

All of a sudden you hear a loud bang, and immediately dart back into the living room. Your heart leaps within your chest as you see your baby lying on the floor, unconscious. Or so she appears to be.

You’ve never been in this situation before, and you have no idea what to do. A million questions start racing through your mind as you run over to her:

What happened? What should I do? Is she alive? How quickly can I call an ambulance?

Finding your baby unconscious is probably one of the scariest and most unfortunate experiences a parent can have. And although it is extremely unlikely, we thought it best to take you through what you should do in this type of situation, if it were ever to occur.

So, before taking you through the detailed steps you should take to save your baby in this situation, let’s outline the most basic things you should know if you see your baby is unconscious.

What are the first things I should know if my baby is unconscious?

Try to resuscitate your baby before calling an ambulance. If you can, get someone else to call an ambulance while you do this, to save time. Remember that every minute counts in this situation.

Call an ambulance immediately, and have your baby next to you when calling. This is because when you get through to the emergency services, they will be able to take you through how to help your baby until the ambulance reaches you.

Look, listen, and feel for signs of your baby breathing. Look at their stomach to see if it is moving. If it seems that your baby is not breathing, you need to try to open up his airways. You can do this by breathing air into their lungs for them.

Try to resuscitate using chest compressions.

Cradle them with their tummy against yours and their head lower than their chest. This is so that their airways are fully open, making it easier for them to breathe.

Keep checking for a pulse until help arrives to take over.

Now let’s go into more detail about the steps you need to take.

What are the steps I need to take if my baby is unconscious?

Try artificial ventilation (‘mouth-to-mouth’)

Artificial ventilation is when you breathe oxygen into someone’s mouth. Follow these steps to carry this out:

Lie your baby on their back. While putting one finger under their chin, put your other hand on their head. Then, tilt their head back as this will open the airway.

Now, remove anything that is clearly in their throat that might be the source of their choking.

Place your lips over their mouth and nose. Now breathe into their lungs until you see their chest rising. Now, take your lips off theirs and let their chest fall down.

Continue this for one minute. Remember that you want to be giving them one breath every three seconds. So, breathe into their nose and mouth, then count to three, then breathe again.

Be on the lookout for any signs of circulation. Circulation will signify to you how well your baby’s heart is beating. If you don’t see any signs of circulation, it’s time to start chest compressions.

Try chest compressions

Chest compressions come after trying artificial ventilation, and they should help your baby’s heart to beat. Follow these steps to carry out chest compressions:

Put two fingers on your baby’s lower breastbone. This should be a finger’s breadth below an imaginary line joining their nipples.

Now, you can press firmly down with the tips of these fingers. Remember that the chest should go down around an inch where you are pressing. Press down five times at a rapid pace.

Then, you can tilt your baby’s head, lift their chin, and give mouth-to-mouth again.

Press down firmly once again, for five times.

You should keep alternating the chest compressions and the mouth-to-mouth until the ambulance comes.

What do I do if my baby is unconscious?