The effectiveness of a cardiopulmonary resuscitation program for mothers of newborn infants.

To investigate the effectiveness of a 15-minute videotape on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a newborn infant, 28 mothers of normal term babies completed a 12-item test on infant CPR before, immediately after, and 4-6 weeks after viewing the videotape. Statistical analysis showed that the videotape significantly improved scores on the first post-test as compared with the pre-test. At final testing, scores were significantly lower than at the first post-test, but still significantly higher than the pre-test scores. CPR education should be adopted by all institutions providing obstetrical care.