PARENTS in York are being urged to learn infant first aid after research showed only a quarter in Yorkshire and the Humber would know what to do if their baby stopped breathing.

St John Ambulance is holding three-hour baby first aid courses in York on February 19 and March 18 as part of its annual campaign, and a public demonstration is also being held on February 2 at Creepy Crawlies, Wigginton Road, York from 10am-2pm.

The first aid charity has also released a video – Nursery Ryhmes Inc - starring nursery rhyme characters, to demonstrate how to treat an unconscious and child who is not breathing.

Research showed seven out of 10 parents in the region considered this potential first aid emergency the most frightening. Two-thirds said they had learnt first aid, most from a workplace course, but only one in four knew how to treat babies.

CPR, Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, for babies is different from adult CPR - only two fingers should be used to give pumps to the baby’s chest and its nose and mouth must be covered by the rescuer’s mouth to give life-saving puffs.

Last year, St John Ambulance ran an award-winning campaign, The Chokeables, to teach parents how to save a child from choking, which led directly to the saving of 46 children.

Its regional director, Simon Dunn, said: “The Chokeables was a real step forward for us and the response was amazing.

“We’ve listened to parents and we know that they want to learn first aid skills in a way that’s easy and memorable. That’s what inspired the creation of Nursery Rhymes Inc.

“We know that a major barrier to parents learning is that baby CPR frightens them, so we’ve removed the fear factor and made it reassuring and as easy as possible to learn.

“We hope the song will stick in everyone’s heads. We’re asking everyone to share the video so that all parents, grandparents and carers can learn what to do in those crucial minutes after a baby has stopped breathing.”

To watch the Nursery Rhymes Inc video and to book on a course visit www.sja.org.uk/NurseryRhymesInc or call the regional headquarters on 01924 262726.

The courses cost £25+VAT. The charity also runs Emergency First Aid All Ages courses throughout the year, which include baby first aid.

What to do if a baby stops breathing

1. Call 999/112 for an ambulance If you’re on your own, you need to give one minute’s worth of CPR before you can call for help, taking your baby with you.

2. 5 puffs

Put your lips around their mouth and nose and blow steadily for up to one second. Give five puffs in total.

3. 30 pumps

Using two fingers in the centre of the chest, give 30 pumps at a rate of 100-120 per minute

4. Repeat, but with 2 puffs and 30 pumps until help arrives