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Having been a first aid instructor before I had a family, one thing I noticed about first aid is one strange reason why these kinds of changes are made.  Sometimes changes are made because new methods are genuinely found to be safer and more effective (such as using compression bandages for snake bites instead of tornequets).  However, sometimes changes are made because the powers that be declare that the former way of teaching was too complex for people to learn and use, and the new method being easier to learn means more people can pass the course, and are less likely to make a mistake during a genuine emergency.

I'd be interested to find out which one was the reason this was changed.

The old method worked well, and I can't see how the new one would be any better for the casualty - assuming the people performing CPR are well trained and know exactly what they are doing.  Though I can see one difference - if the person performing CPR was doing it alone, having to give less breaths could give them a little bit more stamina to keep it up for longer as they are less likely to get out of breath themselves.  But, that is something that is overcome with a good learned technique and a reasonable level of fitness.

I would say, if you are unfortunate enough to have to perform CPR, go with what you know best.  I know I wouldn't want to be relying on someone that was hesitating because someone changed a timing rule for CPR to resuscitate me.  I'd want someone that would do their best without having to think about too hard.

Yes, it has changed... I heard about it on the news last week. Its the same for babies and toddlers 30 secs and 2 breaths just like Izzy said..

They were saying that it is easier and it could save someones life.

Hope this helps Rachel!

The recommended rate for children and babies is now 30 compressions at the rate of 100 per minute (confirm here: http://www.stjohn.org.au/quick_pdfs/cpr.pdf). I have done a few first aid refresher courses and our instructors told us not to worry too much about trying to remember the latest recommended rates. If you are in a situation where you need to use CPR, you need to act immediately and not be debating about what the current recommended rate is.

There is an article on first aid courses for parents on page 14 of the new Bump magazine, which is available for free throughout Australia through obstetricians and pre-natal ultrasound waiting rooms. The website is at http://www.bumpmag.com.au/. (We need to get minti in the Cyber Savvy Mums article Rachel!).

To summarise, there are a number of organisations which provide first aid for children courses which are ideal for parents of babies and young children. These are St John Ambulance (http://www.stjohn.org.au/), Australian First Aid (http://www.australianfirstaid.com.au/course_childcare.html), the Australian Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org.au/ourservices_acrossaustralia_firstaid_coursesschedules.htm - except in Victoria and the Northern Territory there isn't a special course for children's first aid), and Accidents Happen in Melbourne (http://www.accidentshappen.com.au/).

I'm sorry if this has been posted before, but I did a search and couldn't find it...

I went through the infant/child CPR training in September with the American Red Cross and they now teach 30 chest compressions for every 2 breaths. There was a woman there who mentioned that it used to be a 15 compressions. The change is pretty recent.