Questions parents ask us before they book

Any time in the third trimester is ideal. Late enough that it stays fresh, early enough that you are not fitting it in around a due date.

Already had your baby? Then take it now. Do not wait until you start solids. Despite what a lot of people assume, babies can and do choke on breast milk and formula, which means these skills matter from day one.

Anyone who will be alone with your baby. That usually means both parents, and often grandparents, a nanny, or an au pair. The people most likely to be solo with a baby are frequently the ones who never get trained.

You can opt to add additional people to join your class at checkout, and the price adjusts accordingly.

No. We teach expectant parents, new parents, grandparents, nannies, babysitters, and anyone else who cares for a child. The CPR and choking response material covers birth through puberty, so it is just as relevant if your youngest is four.

Not at all, and plenty of our families book after the birth. What we would ask is that you not put it off until solids start, because choking does not begin at six months with a piece of cantaloupe. Babies can choke on breast milk and formula, and it happens most often with a fast letdown, a nipple flow that is too quick for your baby, a propped bottle, or feeding while lying flat.

Most of those episodes are coughing and sputtering that settle on their own, because infants have a strong protective gag reflex. Not all of them do, and a newborn airway is about the width of a drinking straw. Your response is the same choking sequence you would use at any age, and that is exactly what we practice.

Yes, we recommend it. The American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics published updated pediatric CPR guidelines on October 22, 2025, their first full update since 2020. Some of what changed is technique you would use with your hands in an actual emergency. If your training predates October 2025, you learned a protocol that has since been revised.

One concrete example: the two-finger technique for infant chest compressions was eliminated, because it does not reliably achieve adequate depth. If that is what you were taught, you were taught something that is no longer recommended.

Hands-on infant and child CPR and choking response for ages birth through puberty. You practice compressions and rescue breaths on mannequins, work through what a real choking episode looks like at each age, and learn how to tell a partial airway obstruction from a complete one, which is the distinction that determines what you do next.

The early weeks: feeding, sleep and safe sleep, soothing, bathing, cord care, diapering, and the question underneath all of the others, which is what is normal and when do I call the pediatrician.

Both classes in one visit: infant and child CPR and choking response plus the full newborn care curriculum. It is our most popular booking, and it costs less than booking the two classes separately.

The Safe Baby class can be as short as 45 minutes. The Newborn Prep class runs roughly an hour. The combo comes to around two hours overall.

The more people you add, the longer it may take, since everyone gets their own turn practicing rather than watching someone else do it.

No, and we want to be clear about that. We are not certifying you in CPR. Certification is a roughly three hour course that covers adults as well, and ends with an exam.

Ours is an infant and child focused class built to teach you how to respond. You do not need to be certified in CPR in order to perform CPR. You need to know how to respond quickly and correctly, and that is what we spend the time on.

Yes. Your instructor brings everything, including infant and child mannequins for hands-on practice. You do not need to buy or prepare anything.

Practice. You will have your hands on a mannequin doing compressions, and you will run through the choking sequence yourself rather than watch someone demonstrate it. Reading about compression depth and feeling it are different kinds of knowledge, and only one of them comes back to you when you are frightened.

A registered nurse or nurse practitioner, every time. Not a certification-only instructor who trained over a weekend. Our instructors work in pediatrics and neonatal care, so when you ask a question that goes past the curriculum, you get a clinical answer.

No. We teach in your home because it is private and convenient for you, but our visit is a class and nothing more. We do not perform hazard assessments, babyproofing walkthroughs, or home safety inspections, and you should not treat our presence in your home as any form of safety clearance. If you want your space evaluated, hire a dedicated babyproofing service.

Different enough that adult training will not carry you through an infant emergency. Hand placement, compression depth, and the role of rescue breaths all change, and the 2025 guidelines revised infant compression technique specifically because one widely taught method was not achieving adequate depth.

There is also a difference in cause. Adult cardiac arrest is usually cardiac. In infants and children it is far more often respiratory, which changes what you prioritize in the first seconds.

We teach private, in-home classes in 14 areas: Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Connecticut, the Hamptons, Long Island, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, South Florida, Washington D.C., and Westchester.

Pick your city to see availability →

Take the same material through our self-paced online video modules, which you can start today from anywhere. If you would like to see us teaching in your area, send us a note through the contact page and tell us where you are. City requests genuinely shape where we expand next.

Browse the online modules →

Choose your city, then pick a date and time that works for you. You will get a confirmation with your instructor's name and everything you need to know beforehand, which is very little.

The pricing you see on the website is for two attendees taking the class together. For each additional person after that, the price increases.

We recommend keeping a class to eight people or fewer, because past that it starts to run long. If you want a larger group than that, ask us. We are happy to accommodate it.

Pricing is shown when you select your city and class, since it varies by location and by the number of participants. A 3.9 percent credit card processing fee applies to all bookings.

Yes, and it is a genuinely useful shower gift. Gift cards come in any amount and can be redeemed for any class or online module.

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• Cancellations 7 or more days before class: full refund
• Cancellations within 7 days: 50 percent refund
• Rescheduling 7 or more days before class: free
• Rescheduling within 7 days: $50 fee
• Same-day rescheduling: $100 fee

Yes, and it is free when you are more than a week out from your class time. Inside of one week there is a $50 fee, and same-day rescheduling is $100.

Then congratulations, and do not worry about the class. If your baby comes early or you go into labor, we will move your appointment to a date after you are home, with no fee.

If you were booked for the Newborn Prep class or the combo and would rather use the time differently now that your baby is here, we can switch you to the Safe Baby class instead, with no penalty.

The clinical content is the same and it is taught by the same nurses. What you cannot get through a screen is a mannequin under your hands and someone correcting your compression depth in real time.

If you are outside our cities, the modules are the closest thing available. If you are inside them, the modules make an excellent companion to a class: something you can rewatch at 3am, and something a grandparent who was not in the room can go through on their own.

Unlimited access for six months from the date of purchase.

Self-paced video modules covering infant CPR and choking response, child CPR and choking response, bringing baby home, feeding fundamentals, sleep foundations, the fourth trimester, partner prep, and twins and multiples, plus illustrated courses on pediatric first aid and how to use an EpiPen. Bundles are discounted against buying individually.

See all online modules and pricing →

Yes. Our fill-in emergency information sheet is free: contacts to call first, the red-flag signs that mean go now, what to say when you call 911, and instructions to leave for a caregiver. It is designed to live on the fridge, which is where you will want it.

Get the emergency information sheet →  ·  See all quick guides →

It is your call, but understand what the device is before you buy one. A LifeVac is marketed as a second-line treatment, which means it is intended for use after the choking response you learn in class has already failed. In March 2026 the FDA granted it De Novo classification as a Class II suction anti-choking device, the first of its kind authorized in the United States, and the authorization says exactly that: second-line use after a basic life support choking protocol has been unsuccessful, for ages one year and older. It is not authorized for infants under one year. It is not a substitute for back blows, chest thrusts, and abdominal thrusts, and it is not a substitute for calling 911.

If you own one, the important thing is that everyone in the house knows where it is and what order things happen in. A device nobody has practiced with is not a plan.