SYNTHETIC DEMONSTRATION — no real student or patient. Not a medical device.

Urgent & emergency

Baby Not Breathing: Call 911 Now

If a baby is not breathing, is unresponsive, or is only gasping, call 911 immediately and shout for help. Begin infant CPR if you know it; a 911 dispatcher can guide you through each step in real time. The 2025 AHA/AAP guidelines recommend giving rescue breaths alongside compressions for infants. Do not delay the call to look up instructions.

What do I do if my baby stops breathing?

Do these steps in order — do not skip ahead.

1. Call 911 immediately. If someone else is present, have them call while you stay with the baby. If you are alone, call 911 on speaker, then begin CPR.

2. Check responsiveness. Flick the bottom of the baby’s foot firmly. Shout the baby’s name. If the baby does not respond and is not breathing — or is only gasping — move to the next step.

3. Begin infant CPR if you know how. The 2025 AHA/AAP guidelines recommend the following sequence for a single rescuer 1: - Lay the baby on a firm, flat surface. - 30 chest compressions: Place two fingers on the center of the chest, just below the nipple line. Press down about 1½ inches — push hard and fast, roughly 2 per second. For two-rescuer CPR, a two-thumbs-encircling-hands technique is preferred 1. - 2 rescue breaths: Tilt the head back gently (a small tilt — infant airways are fragile), then cover both the mouth and nose with your mouth and give two small, gentle breaths — just enough to see the chest rise. Providing breaths alongside compressions improves survival in infants, who are more likely to arrest from respiratory rather than cardiac causes 1. - Repeat 30 compressions and 2 breaths. Continue until paramedics arrive or the baby begins breathing.

4. Do not leave the baby alone unless it is the only way to reach 911.

What if I have never learned infant CPR?

Stay on the phone with 911. Emergency dispatchers are trained to guide caregivers through infant CPR in real time, step by step, for this exact situation. Keep the phone on speaker so both hands are free and follow the dispatcher’s instructions exactly. You do not need prior training to follow spoken guidance 1.

If a second person is available, one person calls and stays on the phone while the other attempts CPR.

What might cause a baby to stop breathing?

The cause cannot be determined without emergency medical assessment — and identifying it is not your job right now. That is the role of paramedics. For reference, common possibilities include:

Choking or airway obstruction — A foreign object, food, or mucus can block a small infant airway completely. This is among the most common causes. If the baby was feeding or playing with small objects just before, suspect this. For choking infants, the 2025 guidelines recommend repeated cycles of 5 back blows alternating with 5 chest thrusts (no abdominal thrusts for infants) 1.

Brief Resolved Unexplained Event (BRUE) — A sudden episode of stopped or irregular breathing, color change, or limpness in an infant that may seem to resolve on its own. The American Academy of Pediatrics guideline on BRUE emphasizes that any such episode requires emergency evaluation even if the baby appears to recover 2.

Severe respiratory illness — RSV, bronchiolitis, or another respiratory infection can cause breathing to stop or become dangerously labored in young infants, particularly those under 3 months 1.

After the emergency: learning infant CPR

Infant and child CPR are skills every caregiver of a young baby should learn before an emergency happens. The American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics both offer short in-person and hybrid courses that include hands-on practice. Ask your baby’s pediatrician for a recommendation at the next well visit 1.

Knowing the steps in advance — before adrenaline takes over — meaningfully increases the chance of acting quickly and correctly. The 2025 guidelines emphasize early recognition of cardiac arrest and early initiation of high-quality CPR as the most critical factors in survival 1.

Common questions

Should I drive to the hospital or call 911 if my baby isn't breathing?

Call 911 and stay with the baby. Paramedics can begin advanced care the moment they arrive and can guide you through CPR while they are on the way. Driving uses both hands and takes you away from the baby.

How hard should I press during infant chest compressions?

Press down about 1½ inches — harder than most people expect. The 2025 AHA/AAP guidelines recommend pushing hard and fast at roughly 2 compressions per second. The 911 dispatcher will help you maintain the pace.

Should I give rescue breaths during infant CPR?

Yes — for infants, the 2025 AHA/AAP guidelines recommend giving rescue breaths alongside compressions (30 compressions followed by 2 breaths). Infants most often arrest from respiratory problems rather than heart problems, so breaths are particularly important. The 911 dispatcher can guide you.

What if the baby seems to recover — do I still need emergency care?

Yes. Any episode where an infant stops breathing, changes color, or becomes limp — even if it appears to resolve — requires emergency evaluation. The AAP classifies this as a Brief Resolved Unexplained Event (BRUE) and recommends immediate assessment regardless of apparent recovery.

Can I do CPR if I don't know how?

Stay on the phone with 911. The dispatcher will walk you through every step in real time. Acting is always better than waiting.

Call 911 immediately if your baby:

  • —Is not breathing or is only making gasping sounds
  • —Is unresponsive and does not react to stimulation
  • —Has lips, face, or fingernails turning blue or gray (cyanosis)
  • —Is limp and floppy with no muscle tone
  • —Choked on something and is now silent and unresponsive

Call 911 immediately. Do not drive to the hospital — stay with the baby and follow the dispatcher's instructions. Begin infant CPR if the baby is unresponsive and not breathing and you know how, or ask the dispatcher to guide you.

This article is an emergency reference only. Call 911 immediately — do not delay care to read this page. 911 dispatchers can guide you through infant CPR in real time.

References

  1. 1.Joyner BL Jr, Dewan M, Bavare A, de Caen A, DiMaria K, Donofrio-Odmann J, et al. (2025). Part 6: Pediatric Basic Life Support: 2025 American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. Circulation. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001370 ✓Infant CPR sequence (30:2, two-thumbs technique, rescue breaths plus compressions for respiratory arrest), choking management (back blows/chest thrusts, no abdominal thrusts for infants), dispatch-assisted CPR, and the importance of early high-quality CPR in pediatric cardiac arrest
  2. 2.Tieder JS, Bonkowsky JL, Etzel RA, et al.; Subcommittee on Apparent Life Threatening Events, American Academy of Pediatrics (2016). Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (Formerly Apparent Life-Threatening Events) and Evaluation of Lower-Risk Infants. Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-0590 ✓Definition and emergency evaluation requirement for BRUE: a sudden, brief episode of cyanosis, absent or irregular breathing, change in tone, or altered responsiveness in an infant younger than 1 year that appears to resolve but requires emergency evaluation

2 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice — synthetic demonstration content.