As a new mum my first thought was “how on earth do I do this?!!!”….and one of the things that crossed my mind was ‘what happens if something goes wrong?’ (that’s normal right??). Last week I was lucky enough to attend a fabulous first aid course put on @busylizzy_elbmbridge and run by Helen Stafford of Mini First Aid. Helen talked the group through the topics she wanted to cover. These were:
- Debunking some common ‘first aid’ myths
- Ensuring we leave feeling competent and confident to handle first aid situations
- Discussing key topics that would be useful for our babies, but also as they get older
- Discussing general housekeeping tips to help with prevention
Helen explained she’s been doing first aid for 31 years in her “proper” job for a long-haul airline, and during that time has dealt with many of the things she was going to cover in her session.
Firstly, Helen explained the importance of having a first aid kit in your home, or even better if you pop it in the bottom of your changing bag, so it’s never far from your baby! Helen actually sells these and, at the bargain price of £12, I quickly snapped one up!
We covered a number of common first aid issues, which made me feel so much more confident in dealing with them should we ever be in the unfortunate situation to experience any of these. Of course, I’m hoping I never need to use it!
Topics covered included:
- Stings
- CPR
- Burns
- Bleeds/cuts
- Head wounds
- Breaks/dislocations
- Meningitis
- Seizures/febrile convulsions
- Choking/gagging
Some key messages from the course:
For anything life threatening, always call 999.
FYI: If an ambulance attends for a child under 1, their protocol is to take baby to hospital even if they are happy everything is fine and they have dealt with the emergency.
For anything urgent but non-life threatening, call 111 who will triage and refer you to the best possible place.
If having called 111, you are unhappy, Helen advised that you should go to nearest walk in centre.
Life-saving procedures – the Primary Survey:
A useful way to remember the steps to find out if someone has any injuries which may be life-threatening are – DRS ABC
- Danger– is there any danger to you or the person you are trying to help?
- Response– is the person unconscious or in a deep sleep or are they responding? Shake gently or tap on the shoulder for a child.
- Shout– for help. Never leave a baby/child unattended. Use your mobile on speakerphone to call 999 if you are alone.
- Airway– check their airway. If no life-threatening condition, tilt the head back to open the airway (child).
- Breathing– listen and observe for normal breath (in/out). Open airway, don’t overextend – can you feel, hear and see breath
- Circulation– are there any life-threatening circulation issues? If no, look for any other urgent issues requiring first aid / commence CPR if required (put person into the recovery position).
Helen talked us through the recovery positions for baby, child, adult and how to perform CPR. All the information is available in the Paediatric First Aid booklet you can purchase from Helen.
Helen’s top tips:
- Always trust your instinct
- There are a number of health service routes for you – pharmacy, GP, walk-in centres, 111 and 999 – if you are concerned that something may be life-threatening – always call 999
- With meningitis, time is of the essence. Act quickly if you’re concerned.
- Photographing/videoing something to show to health professionals as this is always a useful reference point for what is happening/when it’s happening.
Summary
Over the past few years, I’ve done a couple of first-aid courses. Some at work for ‘basic life-saving skills’ and also two post-natal first aid courses. However, Helen’s session was by far the best. Not only did she have first-hand experience of using the skills she was teaching us, but she was able to make it real for us….and without it feeling too scary. It’s a difficult task delivering life-saving training to new (and let’s face it, anxious!) parents, but Helen was reassuring and supportive and gave enough detail that would help us if we are ever faced with any of these scary situations.
Busylizzy Elmbridge’s owner, Kirsten, was also on hand to support us all not only with offering her own experiences of dealing first-hand with some of these situations, but also to ensure there was help for us throughout the session and with our own babies, so that we could all make sure we were really able to listen and concentrate on the information we were being given.
Busylizzy
Busylizzy offer a range of mummy fitness, mummy & baby and mummy-to-be classes. Kirsten, the franchise owner, also organises a range of other informative workshops including weaning, first-aid and return to work.
For more information on Mini First-Aid:
Helen Stafford
You can also contact Helen if you want to buy the mini first-aid kit, any of the bump packs, paediatric first aid book and thermometer.
Interested in joining BusyLizzy?
If you want to join BusyLizzy, you can get £15 off your first month by mentioning my name ‘Natasha Davies’. You can also book a trial class by signing up here.
For more information about BusyLizzy Elmbridge, you can contact Kirsten via her instagram page: @busylizzy_elbmbridge
The Surrey Mumma 