Bicester nurse who saved her baby in 'learn life-saving skills' call
- Published
The Atkins family went through a traumatic experience after baby Penny stopped breathing
A nurse who saved the life of her three-month-old baby after she stopped breathing has called on more people to learn basic life-saving skills.
Emily Lamburn-Atkins, 25, was at home in Bicester, Oxfordshire, in the early hours of 4 August when her daughter Penny went into respiratory arrest.
She gave her mouth-to-mouth for three minutes and said Penny would have died if she had not known what to do.
She described the experience as "absolutely terrifying".
The ordeal began shortly after her husband Chris went to get milk to feed Penny who was crying, but his daughter suddenly went quiet.
She was "completely blue, unresponsive and floppy" but Mrs Lamburn-Atkins' two years as a practice nurse at the MoD came in use.
"It's ingrained in you during your training to stay calm. All that training kicked in completely," she said.
Penny was reunited with sister Pippa after 10 days in hospital
"Her heart was still beating. It was weak but there. She had no movement of her chest to show she was breathing or even attempting to. There was no life in her, if that makes sense.
"So I put my mouth over her nose and mouth - with babies and young children that's what you do - and then started giving rescue breaths to her.
"Eventually she took a big breath and cried, a bit like when they're born.
"It was a massive sense of relief. It was overwhelming and upsetting."
Shortly afterwards an ambulance arrived and Penny, who has a lung condition, spent 10 days at the John Radcliffe Hospital under supervision.
Chris Atkins has had first aid training since his daughter's near fatal experience
The couple, who also have a three-year-old daughter called Pippa, are still recovering from the trauma.
Mrs Lamburn-Atkins said: "My husband's since had training. We're just very keen for everyone to realise how important it is.
"It's invaluable. It's so important for parents to learn, because the ambulance might not reach you in time."