Primary Care professionals from the Lanzarote Health Area, affiliated with the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, held a workshop last Friday on complementary feeding and choking prevention, aimed at fathers, mothers, and caregivers.
The course is part of health promotion activities and aims to offer the population safe guidelines for the introduction of complementary feeding in infancy, as well as to equip families with practical tools to know how to act in case of a possible choking episode.
The session took place at the Tías Health Center and included the participation of Pediatric Nurse Carmen Castro, Speech Therapist Sara Rodríguez, and Health Instructor Benjamín Nieves.
During the workshop, first, the safety guidelines and keys for a successful start to the BLW (baby-led weaning) method were addressed, and families' doubts were resolved, while also explaining how to recognize a choking situation and the recovery maneuvers that should be performed in these cases, the latter part being practical.
The course allowed attendees to understand the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory tract and the swallowing process, as well as identify the main warning signs of choking. The training aims to empower family members, caregivers, and early childhood education teachers to intervene effectively and safely in emergency situations, minimizing risks and potential complications.
Likewise, the danger of some foods that can cause choking, such as nuts, whole grapes and blueberries, apples and raw carrots, as well as gummies, was pointed out
For this reason, the workshop offered practical tools and useful knowledge to prevent accidents of this type and reduce the tension and emotional impact that such a situation entails in the family environment.
