Do you pay attention to what is being said and shared on social media, or are you blindly believing what you are being told? Here we will break down a recently popular video that is not what they want you to believe.
This video has been making it way around social media recently. Two prominent social media accounts with followers in the area of 770k and 490k range (although many are sure to be the same account following them) have caused quite the discussion amongst their followers based upon what information they are sharing.
The video is overlaid with text that says "Moment a Doctor didn't give up on a dead new born baby." And one of the accounts states "watch for the color change and that first cry the moment that ROSC is achieved." These statements would imply that there is NO Pulse and NO Respirations and that CPR is being performed. It's made to lead the viewers into believing that this doctor has single handedly revived this newborn child.
What isn't correct about any of the above is coincidentally ALL of the above. To break it down, we'll start with the basics.
This doctor is NOT performing CPR on this child. At no point is he (or anyone else for that matter, but we'll get to that in a moment) performing chest compressions. You can see him checking for a pulse. It's hard to see if he's checking the umbilical cord or feeling for a femoral pulse. You also see tapping trying to stimulate the baby, but chest compressions are not being done.
With the lack of chest compressions, we know that the baby at a minimum has a pulse, and presumably has a pulse rate greater than 60. If the baby was in cardiac arrest requiring CPR, the doctor wouldn't be the only person working on life saving measures. Whether you follow PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) or NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program), either require more than 1 person treating the patient, and we don't see anyone else assisting him.
At first you see a simple mask delivering oxygen before switching to a Bag Valve Mask. When they do use the BVM, it is questionable whether adequate respirations are being delivered. Yes, we can see the cheeks, or at least the soft tissue under the chin expanding with each squeeze of the BVM. What isn't seen is any adequate chest rise, or any movement of the chest indicating that any oxygen is being delivered to the lungs. One wouldn't expect to see that though with the angle and position of the head. This also explains the amount of movement we see in the face when the BVM is squeezed as that alone would suggest that there is a blockage of the airway and inadequate ventilation is being done.
So, we have a Doctor that is supposedly resuscitating a neonate in cardiac arrest (or as the video says, "dead") on his own with no assistance from any other medical professional. They are not doing chest compressions, there are no defibrillator pads attached, and the ventilations that are being attempted, are most decidedly not ventilating the lungs. So what exactly is being done? It would seem that the baby HAS a pulse, is being (poorly) administered supplemental oxygen, and is just being stimulated to induce breathing on its own. Which by the way is common practice with a newborn who hasn't yet begun breathing on their own after delivery.
Here is the video clip to see for yourself.
What did you see? Was it CPR or was it something completely lacking any resuscitative measures? Do you believe what you are being told, or what you saw with your own eyes and connected with your basic knowledge of PALS, NRP or other neonate resuscitation guidelines?
Remember, you have the knowledge and the ability to think on your own for yourself. Don't lose that by blindly accepting/believing what is being told to you.