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What to Do if Your Baby is Choking

Written by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

The first finger foods for a baby can be a nervous time for mom. With baby gagging at new tastes and textures and just learning to swallow bigger pieces of food it is a time when every mom worries about choking.

The body is a wonderful thing and the majority of the time baby will bring the food back up on their own within a couple of seconds but if you think your baby may be choking here are some steps to take.

Baby Choking

You can usually tell straight away if your baby is choking. They will go quiet or make a strangled noise. They will often have their mouth open and tongue out and they will usually look like they are struggling to breathe, going red or blue and beginning to panic.

Here is what to do:

Give your baby a couple of medium hard pats on the back
If this has not worked tip baby so that their head is lower than the rest of the body balanced along the length of your arm with your hand supporting their chest and chin. In a sitting down position rest your arm on your thigh.
Give baby four or five strong blows with the heel of your hand between his/her shoulder blades
If the item has not dislodged call the emergency services
Whilst waiting for the emergency services turn baby over keeping his/ her head lower than the rest of the body and still supporting the body along the length of your arm and the head with your hand.
Place three fingers in the centre of the chest just below nipple level. Push down on the chest about 1 inch or just less then release to let the chest rise. Do this five times in a smooth thrusting motion.
Turn baby back onto his/ her front and repeat steps 2 & 3
Turn baby back onto his/ her front and repeat steps 5 & 6
If baby becomes unconscious you may need to begin CPR

Reduce the Risk

To reduce the risk of choking for first time finger foodies try to keep to these tips:

Don't force baby to eat if he or she is crying or getting distressed
Make sure that food is soft enough for baby and add small chunks or different textures gradually
Avoid small hard things like raisins, hard sweets, nuts, raw hard vegetables, whole grapes and foods that don't break up easily when gummed
Never leave baby alone whilst eating or drinking

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