Mom's Day One

Welcome moms! Mom’s Day One is fabulous and is creating a movement! My name is Kavita Chauhan and I (with my company 2HEALTH) am very excited to be working with the brilliant founders and the thousands of moms that will have a ‘Day One’.  I love creating safer and rescue-confident families.  We are excited to share our stories and tips and hope after ‘Day One’ a child doesn’t have to revisit the hospital!

According to Safe Kids Canada, the top three risks to children are: drowning, vehicle accidents, and suffocation/choking.

With the holiday party season approaching, there will be lots of food, laughter, family, kids and craziness around.  Prevent choking and if it happens… here’s what to do:

Choking Prevention tips:

• Don’t combine driving time with eating time. If the child chokes, they can’t lean forward in a car seat to cough and you may not be able to rescue them in 60 seconds!
• These are actual items children have choked on: water bottle cap; food (chicken, apple); formula/ breast milk; water from a swimming pool; paper; baby oil; milk bag corners; door stopper rubber top; coins, balloons, button batteries, candies, buttons, fruit with seeds, chewing gum, key rings, hot dogs, nuts/ seeds, popcorn, pins, plant leaves, plastic bags, raisins, whole grapes/ berries, small toy pieces, spoonful of sticky foods, cords/ strings… Do a ‘crawl test’ in your home to search and remove these hazards.

How do you rescue a conscious choking baby, when they are having difficulty breathing and not coughing?

• Stay calm and respond quickly. If they don’t cough it out immediately or you can’t remove it from their mouth, start your rescue!
• If you are not alone, have the other person call 911/EMS
• If you are alone, rescue first then call 911/EMS immediately
• Hold the baby/toddler in one arm (like a football hold) head down while supporting their jaw
• You should kneel so that the baby’s weight can rest on your one arm + legs and the head remains down
• With the head lower than their body, perform back blows (hard taps) on their upper back. You may only need a few hard ones to get the thing out. Remember, a bruise on their upper back is minor compared to choking to death!
• Call 911/EMS afterwards, even if they “seem” okay.  

At 2HEALTH First Aid courses, we encourage parents + caregivers to practice these skills on their children (we simulate the hard back blows!)  It’s important to role-play it before you need it.  However, prevention is even more important. 95% of incidents are preventable!

Ask your questions below, or visit www.2health.com. Stay safe!