More than three quarters of parents in Greater Manchester don’t know the correct technique for saving their baby from choking, with a new advert campaign aiming to solve the problem.
St John Ambulance revealed that 83% of Mancunians wouldn’t know what to do in the situation, which almost 40% of parents in the area have witnessed before.
Responding to these concerns, the first-aid charity launched a new advert last week aiming to solve the problem, which has already attracted nearly one million YouTube views.
The Chokeables – featuring the voices of David Walliams, David Mitchell, Johnny Vegas and Sir John Hurt – shows people how to help a choking baby in just 40 seconds.
The celebrities take on the characters of animated objects that could potentially choke babies: a small princess toy, a pen lid, a jelly baby and a peanut.
They’ve joined together because they’ve had enough and want to show how easy it is to save a choking baby’s life.
Graham Ellis, regional training and community projects manager for St John Ambulance, said: ‘Knowing what to do in an emergency can be the difference between life and death, especially with something like choking.
We all know how time pressed parents are so this film makes it as easy as possible to learn first aid – in less than 40 seconds we can all know a skill that could save a life.
“We hope people watch and share the video with their friends and family so more people have the confidence to act in an emergency.’
Other findings revealed that 58% of parents said that knowing first aid would help them feel better prepared and less scared.
Worryingly, of those who said they knew how to save a choking baby, only 26% knew the correct, recommended technique. Nearly three quarters of parents (74%) selected the wrong answer when given multiple choice options.
Around 47% of parents think choking is the most important first aid skill to have as a parent – and of the parents who’d witnessed their baby choke, 76% said their baby choked on food, 14% on vomit, and 9% on toys. Other causes included coins, mucus/phlegm, marbles, and pen lids.
In addition to the film, St John Ambulance has released new resources on its website to teach people life saving first aid skills.
You can follow the campaign on social media by using the #TheChokeables hashtag.
Image courtesy of St John Ambulance, with thanks.
