When should you perform chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts?

When should you perform chest thrusts instead of abdominal thrusts?

• A. If the person is in a wheelchair
• B. If the person is too large to wrap your arms around their waist
• C. If the person is visibly pregnant
• D. If the person is wearing a necklace

Answer: (C)

When a choking person is pregnant, abdominal thrusts are avoided because squeezing the abdomen could harm the fetus and the maneuver may be less safe or effective. Chest thrusts focus pressure on the chest rather than the abdomen, providing a safer way to dislodge the obstruction without compressing the uterus. That safety concern is why pregnancy is the situation in which chest thrusts are used instead of abdominal thrusts. The other scenarios listed don’t carry the same pregnancy-related risk, so they don’t mandate switching to chest thrusts.

When a choking person is pregnant, abdominal thrusts are avoided because squeezing the abdomen could harm the fetus and the maneuver may be less safe or effective. Chest thrusts focus pressure on the chest rather than the abdomen, providing a safer way to dislodge the obstruction without compressing the uterus. That safety concern is why pregnancy is the situation in which chest thrusts are used instead of abdominal thrusts. The other scenarios listed don’t carry the same pregnancy-related risk, so they don’t mandate switching to chest thrusts.