Parents in Harrow are being urged to learn baby CPR after research revealed few people know what to do if their baby stops breathing.

St John Ambulance will be running the special three-hour infant first aid courses at its Harrow headquarters in The Car Park, Pinner Road, as part of its latest life saving campaign.

The £30 courses will take place on Saturday, January 30, February 20, and February 27 from 9am to 12 noon.

The training covers key first aid emergencies for babies and toddlers as well as how to give Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to a baby who is unconscious and not breathing.

Research commissioned by St John Ambulance found seven out of 10 mums and dads in London said finding their baby unconscious and not breathing was the first aid emergency which scared them most.

While two-thirds said they had learnt first aid – most from a workplace course – less than one in three knew how to treat babies in a life threatening medical emergency.

CPR for babies is different from adult CPR, in that only two fingers should be used to give pumps to the baby’s chest and its nose and mouth must be covered by the rescuer’s mouth to give life saving puffs.

The first aid charity this week released a video, starring nursery rhyme characters, which demonstrates how to give CPR to a baby.

To watch the Nursery Rhymes Inc video and to book a place on a baby first aid course, visit: www.sja.org.uk/NurseryRhymesInc