This article is about the management of airway obstruction in infants. This is different in the management of airway obstruction in adults because obviously infants are fragile and they need extra care.

 If you see a conscious and choking infant, first thing to do is to survey the scene, If the scene is not safe, then transfer the victim with the guardian to a safe place.

• Introduce yourself to the infant's guardian and inform him or her that you are a trained CPR provider.
• Identify if it is either a partial or a complete airway obstruction

Partial airway obstruction-  check the infant's breathing for unusual breath sounds check the infant's skin if it is turning blue. One reliable sign of partial airway obstruction in an infant is when he or she manages to cry.

Complete airway obstruction-the infant cannot cry but looks shocked with eyes wide open and cyanotic (bluish hue) skin. The infant's chest does not rise and fall which is an indicator of the absence of breathing.

• Check the infant's mouth, if obstruction is visible; remove using the finger sweep technique. If the obstruction is not visible, then deliver back slaps
• To properly deliver the back slaps, , hold the infant using one hand in the jaw line with the arm parallel to the infant's body. With your other hand, support the infant's head. Lift the infant with your arm parallel on the infant's back. Then move one leg in front of the other leg and bend the knee that is of the front leg. The feet should be flat on the floor with the stance wide.  Turn the infant face down of prone and place her or him in the front leg. The infant's head should be lower than her or his body with your arm at the level of the front leg. Deliver 5 back slaps using your heel of the other free hand, deliver the back slaps between the infant's shoulder blades in a motion that is sliding down, the force exerted should be enough to expel the foreign obstruction.
• If the five backslaps have been delivered, check the floor if the foreign body have been expelled.
• Check if the infant is breathing, if you observed the rise and fall of the infant's chest and felt the breath of the infant with your ear and cheek close to the infant's mouth and nose, and then place the infant in recovery position which is the "burping" position.
• If the infant is not breathing, open the airway seal your mouth on the infant's mouth and nose, give two breaths.
• Check again the infant's breathing and check the infant's pulse usually located in the brachial area.
• If there is pulse and breathing, place the infant in burping position while waiting for the professional emergency medical services to arrive.