A Richards Bay mother’s attempts to resuscitate her baby boy after he stopped breathing at the weekend, could have saved his life.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said the woman called for help after she found the 2-week-old had was not breathing on Friday.
She and her sister met up with paramedics, en route to hospital. When paramedics arrived, they found the woman performing CPR on the infant who was already turning blue.
They took over and continued resuscitation efforts in an ambulance, en route to hospital.
“After a few cycles of CPR and ventilations the child’s circulation returned just before the ambulance arrived at the hospital,” Dollman said. “Emergency room staff were at hand and they all continued to work to stabilise the little boy.”
He went on that a while later, the baby’s condition improved from critical to stable.
He said there was “no doubt” in the paramedics’ minds that the woman’s initial efforts were a major contributing factor in the race against time.
“Early and effective CPR is known to play a vital role in the positive outcome and long term prognosis of a patient in need of it,” Dollman said.