Infant CPR classes?

January 3, 2008 1:53 PM

Do you know of any free or cheap infant CPR classes?

So the wife and I are expecting our first child, and I came up with the bright idea for us to both take infant CPR classes. I was all sanctimonious about it when I mentioned it to my wife last night too, really playing up how responsible I was being, but then I was looking around today, and the damn Red Cross wants to charge $67 per person for the classes! I am sure that my first born son or daughter's life will be worth a lot to me, but $134? I don't know. Anyone know of any free/cheap infant CPR classes in Columbia, SC (online courses will not suffice I am afraid, cause then it will look like I am cheaping out on something that I was so high and mighty about last night)? Thanks.

posted by ND¢ to health & fitness (9 comments total)

May be worth contacting the hospital at which you're giving birth (if you're doing so in a hospital). Palmetto Health is charging $15/person for infant CPR classes for parents who give birth there.
posted by occhiblu at 1:58 PM on January 3, 2008

You could take pet CPR and just try to apply those skills to your puppy-sized infant....

Seriously, congrats on your impending bundle of joy. The Red Cross tends to run its classes on a cost recovery basis so you are paying mainly for the instructor and/or room rental. You could look into getting a bunch of expectant parents together and calling the RC to see about renting an instructor for an afternoon for a bunch of folks to do infant CPR if you're concerned about cost cutting. The bgi deal is that the RC is a certifying agency so part of what you pay for is them saying "yes he took the test, he is allowed to perform CPR in an emergency situation, we have trained him" I took infant CPR as part of my CPR training course and if I were you maybe I'd try to spread the cost around and take a full-fledged CPR class and figure you're getting the infant CPR for free!
posted by jessamyn at 2:00 PM on January 3, 2008

That is where we are giving birth occhiblu! You are a genius! Metafilter just saved me $104! Dented cans for all!

Thanks for the congrats Jessamyn. We are pretty pumped.
posted by ND¢ at 2:04 PM on January 3, 2008

That is where we are giving birth occhiblu! You are a genius!

Heh. Though less "genius" and more "good at googling." ;-)
posted by occhiblu at 2:06 PM on January 3, 2008

OMG such good news! ND¢ have mefimailed you.
posted by Wilder at 2:09 PM on January 3, 2008

Talk to the local fire department or smaller/regional hospital in your area. I took a $20 CPR course from the DC fire department for my job last year. You may also find that smaller hospitals offer classes cheaper vs. large university/teaching hospitals.
posted by batcrazy at 2:16 PM on January 3, 2008

whoops. occhiblue already had it! :)
posted by batcrazy at 2:17 PM on January 3, 2008

For anyone else checking this out, I took my CPR certs at a Babies-r-us, pretty sure we were charged in the $25 range- the store wasn't doing the training, but providing the space and all, check the bulletin boards/customer service.
posted by pupdog at 9:28 AM on January 4, 2008

I took an adult/child/infant CPR class at the hospital that we are scheduled to give birth at last week after work from 6:00pm until about 8:30. It only cost $20 and I guess I learned a lot. I don't know if I could do it in an emergency, but I feel a little better now. Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.
posted by ND¢ at 2:02 PM on April 27, 2008