No Mouth to Mouth?

I took a class today in infant and child CPR, and the teacher (a nurse) gave me some startling information: Mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, according to the nurse, is no longer recommended. Instead, in 2006, the standards for CPR changed: They now focus almost entirely on chest compressions, with a couple of breaths every 30 compressions primarily to make sure the airway isn't obstructed. The nurse stated that studies showed chest compressions themselves drew oxygen into the body and circulated it to the brain. Further, the air that the compressions draw into the body are outside air, which contains much more oxygen (the stuff the brain and body needs) than the exhaled air breathed into the mouth. CPR guidelines have also been simplified greatly -- in part because under stress, people are unlikely to remember complicated guidelines; and in part because getting the procedures exactly right is not as important as starting them in the first place.

You can find out more about the American Heart Associations CPR guidelines here.