Baby choking — exactly what to do (with photos)

If you have ever watched a baby choke, due to a fast let down when breastfeeding or even mucus in those early days; you know the sheer panic. The face goes red, the cough disappears, and your brain freezes. The good news: the technique to clear an infant's airway takes about ninety seconds to learn properly, and you can practise it on a teddy. Here's exactly what to do if your baby is choking, in the order you do it.

This guide is written for parents and carers of infants under one year. The technique for older children and adults is different — I'll cover that at the bottom.

First — is your baby actually choking?

This matters. If your baby can cry, cough, or make any sound, they are not fully choking. Their airway is partially blocked, but they are clearing it. Don't intervene. Stay calm, support them, and let them cough it out. Most "choking" episodes resolve this way without you doing anything.

You only intervene with back blows and chest thrusts when your baby is silent: cannot cry, cough, or breathe. Eyes wide. Sometimes face going from red to grey/blue.

The technique — back blows and chest thrusts

Step 1 — Get into position

Sit down, or kneel. Place baby face-down along your forearm, supporting their head and neck with your hand. Their head should be lower than their bottom — this lets gravity help. Use your thigh to support your forearm if it helps.

Step 2 — Five firm back blows

Using the heel of your other hand, give up to five sharp blows between their shoulder blades. Yes, firm. New parents always worry about being too hard — but a soft tap won't shift a stuck object. Look in their mouth between each blow. If you can see the object, hook it out with one finger (only if you can see it — don't blind-finger-sweep).

Step 3 — Five chest thrusts

If five back blows haven't worked, turn baby onto their back along your other forearm, head still lower than bottom. Place two fingers in the centre of their chest, just below the nipple line. Push down sharply and release — five times. These are slower and deeper than CPR compressions; you're trying to pop the obstruction out.

Step 4 — Repeat the cycle

If still nothing has come out, repeat: five back blows, five chest thrusts. Keep going.

Step 5 — Call 999 if it's been more than 30 seconds

If you haven't already, call 999. Put it on speaker and keep doing the cycle while the call connects. The operator will talk you through it — they're brilliant at this.

Step 6 — If baby becomes unresponsive

Lay them on a firm surface and start infant CPR: 30 chest compressions, 2 rescue breaths. (Infant CPR is its own technique — different to adult — and worth learning properly. Read my guide to infant CPR →)

What you should NOT do

• Don't do the Heimlich manoeuvre on an infant. Abdominal thrusts can damage a baby's organs. Heimlich is for over-1s only.
• Don't blind-sweep their mouth with your finger. You can push a partial obstruction further down. Only finger-hook if you can see the object.
• Don't hold them upside-down by the ankles. Old wives' tale. Doesn't work and can hurt them.
• Don't give water or food. Their airway is blocked — anything you put in can make it worse.

Common things babies choke on

The vast majority of choking episodes I see in the postnatal ward are on:

• Vomit — especially during the first 12 weeks. Sit them up, support their head.
• Breast milk or formula — coughing usually clears this; only intervene if silent.
• Mucus — common with cold/colic. Gentle suction or just patience.
• Small toys, dummy clips, beads — once they start grabbing.
• Round food once weaning starts — grapes, blueberries, cherry tomatoes. Cut them lengthways, then into quarters. Always.

For older children (over 1 year)

The technique changes slightly:

• Five back blows (between shoulder blades, leaning child slightly forward)
• Then five abdominal thrusts (Heimlich) — fist just above belly button, sharp upward pull
• Repeat the cycle
• Call 999 after 30 seconds

One last thing — please don't beat yourself up

I've taught first aid for fifteen years and supported countless births. The parents who handle real emergencies best are not the ones who memorised everything — they're the ones who trained their bodies once or twice and trusted that the muscle memory would kick in. That's why I run hands-on courses. Reading saves no lives. Practising does.

If this article freaked you out a bit — good. That feeling is what gets people to actually book the class. Come and learn this properly. It's two hours, it's £150 for up to 6 people, invite the grandparents too, and you'll never look at your baby the same way again — in the best possible sense.

Eva Levinson is a Postnatal Midwifery Assistant for the NHS, a Doula UK trained doula, and an Ofsted/HSE compliant first aid instructor. She runs And Chillax in Anerley, South London.