First Aid Tips You Should Know As A New Mum - Part 2

First Aid Tips You Should Know As A New Mum – Part 2

Posted By : Lis
21/03/2017
Blog

Becoming a new mum is an exciting time of great change in your life and the beginning of an amazing journey for you and your baby.

It’s important to try to be as prepared as you possibly can. Part of that includes knowing what to do once your baby has arrived.

Last week we looked at some common ailments your baby may suffer from. This week we’re focussing on what to do in more serious emergency situations.

Baby recovery position

If your baby is unresponsive and you are unsure if they are breathing, cradle your baby in your arms with their head tilted downwards. Holding them like this will ensure their airway is kept open and will also stop them choking on their tongue or breathing in vomit.

Keeping your baby in this position, call emergency services and do not leave your baby on their own.

Burns

Remove any clothing that is near the burnt area, including nappies.

Cool the burn under running lukewarm or cool water for at least 10 minutes. After you’ve cooled the burn, you should cover it with cling film or a clean plastic bag and seek medical advice straight away if the burn is serious.

Bleeding

Bleeding heavily means when blood is flowing freely from a wound and it is too big for a plaster to cover or contain.

You need to put pressure on the wound with whatever is available to try to stop or slow the blood flow.

Call the emergency services straight away and if you are in a public place call for someone to help – keep pressure on the wound until help arrives.

Choking

As your baby gets bigger, they will start to explore and learn about the world by putting things in their mouth. Whilst as a parent you can take every care to keep small objects out of reach, however careful you are, this is a risk you need to be aware of.

Small objects such as button batteries, beads and marbles are just the right size to get stuck in a child’s airway and cause choking.

If you can see an object in your child’s throat try to remove it if you can, but be careful not to push it further in which could make it harder to remove.

If your child is coughing encourage them to keep coughing. If the coughing is silent or they are struggling to breathe, call for help immediately. If they’re conscious but not coughing properly or at all, try back blows.

Back blows

For a baby (under one year old) sit down and lay your baby face down on your thighs, supporting their head with one hand. Give up to five sharp back blows with the heel of your other hand in between their shoulder blades, in the middle of their back.

Chest thrusts

If that doesn’t dislodge the object and your baby is conscious try chest thrusts. Lay your baby down face up on your thighs, place two fingers in the middle of their breastbone and give five sharp pushes to the chest, compressing it about a third.

If your baby is unconscious and the above hasn’t worked, call the emergency services immediately.

Febrile Convulsions

Febrile seizures (febrile convulsions) are fits that can happen to a child when they have a fever. They happen most often between the ages of six months and three years and usually will last no more than five minutes.

During a seizure your baby will become stiff and may twitch their arms and legs. They could fall unconscious, be sick and foam at the mouth and their eyes may roll back.

This can be frightening for a parent, but remember that usually they are harmless and your baby will fully recover.

You should put your baby into the recovery position and remember how long the seizure lasts.

If you think your baby has had a febrile convulsion take them to hospital as a precaution.

Meningitis

Your baby’s immune system is not yet fully developed which means they are more vulnerable to meningitis as it is less easy for their body to fight infection.

A classic symptom of meningitis is a rash that initially looks like small, red pinpricks which then spread and turns into blotches.

If you press the side of a glass against the rash and it doesn’t fade, this could indicate blood poisoning (septicaemia) caused by meningitis and you should seek emergency medical advice immediately.

Other symptoms can include:

sensitivity to bright lights
pale, mottled skin
high temperature (over 37.5C)
quickened breathing
drowsiness
fits (seizures)
feeling or being sick
stiffness
floppy or unresponsive
bulging soft spot on head (fontanelle)
agitation
refusal to feed

Emergency Information Sheet

This is such a simple idea but really could save valuable time in an emergency.

If someone else is caring for your child, always be prepared by having an emergency information sheet in your house (you can download one from Mummy Pages in the sources below).

Make sure you include the following information: