A mum is encouraging all parents to learn CPR after her young daughter ventured into a pond and was found unresponsive.
Mum Holly Lapria experienced every parents' worst nightmare when her daughter, Isabella, managed to make her way to a neighbour's pond.
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Shortly after she wandered off the little girl was found lying face up in the pond, but she was unresponsive to those trying to rescue her.
Isabella's grandmother then jumped into action and began to perform CPR on the little girl, with her quick-thinking thankfully managing to save Isabella's life.
Knowing that her daughter might not be alive today if it weren't for the life-saving manoeuvre provided by her grandmother, Holly is now throwing her support behind a new initiative launched by the Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), which has created an illustrated story book which teaches parents and caregivers the essential CPR skills needed to resuscitate babies and toddlers.
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Aaron's Heart is free from the council, and comes in response to shocking statistics which revealed more than a third of new parents lack the confidence to perform CPR on their children, and that 89 percent of parents and caregivers want more help and information on baby and child CPR.
The book details how easy it is for an accident to happen with children, and the immediate steps parents or caregivers need to go through to save a child's life.
Other parents showing their support for the release of Aaron's Heart are Dan and Vicky Swales, from Halesowen in the West Midlands.
The couple sadly lost their child, Noah, when he was just a baby after their own attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful.
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Dan and Vicky are determined to raise awareness about life-saving CPR techniques, which could be used to save a child if they experience cardiac arrest.
James Cant, the CEO of RCUK, has emphasised the importance of learning this lifesaving skill, saying, "Although cardiac arrest in babies and children is not common, it can occur in certain situations such as drowning or accidental ingestion of small objects like button batteries.
"It is crucial for parents, caregivers, and anyone interacting with children to have the confidence to spring into action during an emergency, potentially saving a child's life."
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In children, cardiac arrest primarily stems from severe medical conditions such as sepsis or asthma, and less commonly from injuries, trauma, or accidents like swallowing a button battery, leading to choking, drowning, or burns.
You can request your free copy of Aaron's Heart at www.resus.org.uk/baby-cpr.
Emily Brown