What to Do If Your Baby Is Choking

If you believe your baby is choking (on food, a small object or something else), follow these instructions from the American College of Emergency Physicians:

First, determine whether your baby can breathe, cry or cough.
If your baby is coughing strongly, this usually means the airway is blocked only slightly or not blocked at all. Coughing may dislodge the object successfully.
Only begin first aid for choking if your baby cannot breathe at all or can only produce a weak cough and seems to be losing color in the face.

If an infant (under age 1) is conscious and choking:

Call 9-1-1 or have someone else call in case emergency medical help will be needed.
Sit down and lay your forearm, with palm facing up, along your thigh. Then place your baby face down over your forearm with the infant’s head positioned a bit lower than his or her body. Use your hand to lightly hold the baby’s chin (to help support the head).
Using the heel of your other hand, deliver up to 5 back blows, forcefully, between your baby’s shoulder blades.
Turn your baby face up, supporting the head with one hand. The head should still be positioned lower than the body.
With 2 or 3 fingers, deliver up to 5 thrusts into your baby’s sternum (breastbone) area. Press the sternum down 1/2 to 1 inch with each thrust. Avoid the tip of the sternum.
Repeat both back blows and chest thrusts until the object is expelled or the baby becomes unconscious.

If your choking baby becomes unconscious, call 9-1-1 and perform CPR if you know how. Losing consciousness requires immediate, emergency assistance. Knowledge of CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and other first aid is important and valuable for all parents and caregivers.

Don’t wait for an emergency to happen. Find a CPR / first aid class in your community and take it.

Choking Prevention Tips

Accidental choking kills nearly 4,000 adults and children in the U.S. each year; 2/3rds of the children who die from choking are under age 4. These tips will help you prevent your baby or child from choking:

Supervise mealtimes. Do not offer—or allow siblings to offer—unsafe foods to a baby or toddler. These include hot dogs, nuts, chunks of meat, grapes, hard candy, popcorn, chunks of peanut butter and uncooked vegetables.
Keep toys with small parts and other small household items (buttons, round disc batteries, coins, etc.) out of your baby’s or toddler’s reach.
Do not give your baby or toddler a balloon without strict supervision; pieces of balloons that pop (especially near or in a young child’s mouth) can quickly become a dangerous choking hazard.

If an infant (under age 1) is conscious and choking:

Choking Prevention Tips

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