B&B owner saves baby's life with CPR

The baby girl was taken to hospital and her condition is improving. File image.

A Longford woman who saved a baby's life by performing CPR has told the Irish Examiner that she wants to raise awareness of how to do CPR on an infant, so other babies can be saved.

Freda Farrell, who runs the Westhouse café and B&B in Longford, saved a baby girl's life on February 1.

She described the moment when the baby girl turned from blue to white and started breathing again.

Ms Farrell explained that they have four rooms in the B&B, which are currently filled with long-term guests waiting to move into more permanent housing, as well as essential workers. 

She said a couple moved in last October and they had a baby girl in January. 

"It was last Monday when I heard screaming out in the hall. It's usually very quiet here, so that would be abnormal for us," said Ms Farrell.

She went out into the hallway to investigate and she saw the couple screaming in panic. 

"The mother was shouting 'she's gone, she's gone'. The dad was running up the hall, and I realised he had the baby in his arms.

"There was just no response from the baby, her breath was not there, she was a blue-grey colour."

The mother told Ms Farrell that she had fed the baby and changed her, and then she noticed that her daughter's colour was changing and suddenly she wasn't breathing anymore. 

She also told her that the baby girl has a heart defect.

Previously, Ms Farrell had received CPR training and her most recent course taught her infant CPR. 

"I took the baby from the dad, and somebody had already rung an ambulance. I placed the baby on the bed in her parent's room. Usually you are supposed to perform CPR on a flat surface, but she was tiny."

Ms Farrell said at this stage, there was still no response from the baby.

"I opened her tiny little mouth and blew three little light short breaths into her mouth. I could see her chest rise.

She then performed CPR by pressing two fingers into the centre of her chest. 

"It took some time but she slowly came around.

"The blood came back down her veins, and her face changed from grey blue to red, then white. She opened her eyes and let out a weak little cry."

By this stage, the ambulance had arrived and the baby was taken to hospital. "We were all praying, lighting candles, and thinking positive."

The baby girl was taken to the ICU, but Ms Farrell said she is improving. "They are happy with her progress and she can breathe without oxygen now."

Ms Farrell said she was so shocked when it all happened but she is happy that she could help. "I was running on adrenaline, I had to make a snap decision."