Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Practice 2025 – Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Master Your CPR Skills!

The recommended technique for performing CPR on a child under 8 years old involves using one hand for compressions along with providing gentle rescue breaths. This technique is specifically designed to account for the smaller chest size and physiology of a child. Using one hand allows for effective compressions without causing excessive force, which can be harmful to a child's ribcage.

Incorporating rescue breaths is also crucial in children, as their respiratory arrest can frequently lead to cardiac arrest. The gentle rescue breaths help to deliver oxygen to the child’s lungs, increasing the effectiveness of the resuscitation effort. This combination of actions—compressions and breaths—is tailored to support both the heart and breathing functions, aiming to restore normal circulation and oxygenation in a child in distress.

The other approaches may not be suitable for a child’s anatomical and physiological needs. For instance, focusing solely on chest compressions disregards the importance of ventilation, which is vital in pediatric cases. Similarly, using both hands for compressions might apply excessive force, and alternating only with rescue breaths would not provide the continuous circulation needed during CPR.