Performed CPR and Saved 11-month-old Baby Girl After She Suddenly Stopped Breathing in Wal-Mart

Feb 28, 2022

Abby Snodgrass was at a Wal-Mart in High Ridge, Missouri, as a baby girl stopped breathing

She ran over and performed CPR before responders arrived at the scene. The family of the baby has publicly expressed its gratitude to Snodgrass and says the 11-month-old girl is alright

A Missouri high school student who has said she only learned CPR 'a couple months ago' used her know-how to help an 11-month-old baby last week.

Abby Snodgrass was at a Wal-Mart in High Ridge last Wednesday as a baby stopped breathing, KSDK reported.

'I was in the dressing room and I heard them call for the emergency over the radio,' Snodgrass said in an interview with the affiliate station. 'They said "No pulse, no breathing." And I just ran over there.'

CCTV footage broadcast by ABC News reveals Snodgrass moving toward a woman holding her baby girl.

'She did not look like a normal baby, she didn't look alive,' Snodgrass told KSDK. 'And once I saw that no one was doing anything I asked if anyone knew CPR.'

Snodgrass, who attends Hillsboro High School, also said of her CPR training 'It was just a couple months ago in my health class.'

Speaking about the CPR, she told KSDK 'I was terrified. I remember thinking as I'm doing the compressions, what if this doesn't work? But I had to put it out of my mind.'

Snodgrass was praised for her efforts by responding High Ridge Fire District Chief Mike Arnhart - with Arnhart telling the affiliate station the baby could have died otherwise.

Jesse Barton, the Valle Ambulance District Chief, told KSDK that CPR training began for Hillsboro school district's high school students in fall 2013 - and that 'By the end of this year we will have taught around it to around 600 kids.'

Snodgrass is enlisted in the National Guard and would like to speak to the baby's family again to see if they are alright, the affiliate station reported.

In a statement to ABC News, the family of the baby said 'We are exceedingly grateful to the young woman who helped our daughter. Our daughter is home and healthy, and we couldn't be more thankful.'

Learn, Enjoy and Save Life. HealthForce Training Center offer services such as Basic Life Support (BLS), Advance Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advance Life Support (PALS), CPR AED, Pediatric First Aid CPR AED and First Aid CPR AED. Read more of our blogs.