Infant Choking & CPR — where to learn
We don't teach hands-on first aid on this website. Reading is no substitute for practice. Here are the infant first-aid courses every new parent should book once.
- Last reviewed
- Sources cited
- 5 sources
- Author
- Dr Jubal John, FRACP
- Category
- medical guides
This page is being reviewed
We’re double-checking this content before publishing it — it’ll be available here shortly.
In the meantime, browse the published guides or contact the rooms.
In an emergency, call 000 first.
The 000 operator stays on the line and can talk you through infant CPR while help is on the way. Don’t hang up; put the phone on speaker.
Why there are no step-by-step instructions on this page
Infant CPR and choking response are hands-on skills. The technique that matters, neutral head position, two-finger compression depth, the back-blow / chest-thrust rhythm, knowing when not to intervene, is the kind of thing your fingers have to remember in the moment, not your reading memory.
Every peak body that publishes guidelines on this, the Australian Resuscitation Council, Red Nose, Royal Life Saving, agrees that a one-off in-person course before or shortly after discharge is the single most useful preventive thing a new parent can do. That’s why we point you at one rather than try to be one.
Where to take a course
Where to find a course
- St John Ambulance: Caring for Babies and Kids infant first-aid course → stjohnvic.com.au (Victoria; other states have their own pages via the state St John branches)
- Royal Life Saving Australia: paediatric resuscitation classes regularly across Victoria. → royallifesaving.com.au
- Red Cross Australia: first-aid courses including infant CPR. → redcross.org.au
- Your local council: many run new-parent CPR sessions; ask your MCH nurse what’s available locally
- Hospital antenatal classes: most include a brief infant first-aid component; ask before you book if you want CPR specifically
Course length and fees vary by provider, check when you book. Your MCH nurse can point you to community sessions near you.
Reference reading (if you want it)
These are the public references the courses themselves teach from. Useful as a refresher after a class, not as a substitute.
- Australian Resuscitation Council — Guideline 4 (Airway) and Guideline 5 (Infant CPR), the national protocol
- RCH Kids Health Info — Choking, suffocation, and strangulation, plain-English, evidence-based
- HealthDirect — When a baby chokes, a public 24/7 nurse line if you’re unsure
- Red Nose — Safer sleeping & resuscitation, the SIDS-prevention context
For non-urgent nurse advice 24/7 in Victoria: MCH Line 13 22 29 or NURSE-ON-CALL 1300 60 60 24.
Other first-aid moments worth knowing
The same principle applies to the other emergencies a new parent might face, read briefly, then learn properly.
- Burns and scalds → RCH Kids Health Info: Burns and scalds — prevention and first aid
- Drowning prevention and response → RCH Kids Health Info: Water safety
- Poisoning: call 13 11 26 (Australian Poisons Information Centre, 24/7)
- Anaphylaxis → ASCIA — anaphylaxis action plans
Related
- When to seek help, the symptoms-and-actions matrix
- Safe sleep, the prevention side of the same conversation
- Starting solids, choking-safe foods and textures
Don't have a CPR class booked?
Book an infant CPR course. Search 'infant CPR course Melbourne', or ask at your next MCH visit for one near you.