You are on the scene of a call for "an infant with difficulty breathing." Your patient is a 14-day-old female infant of a 16-year-old mother. The mother was alone with the infant for the first time when the baby choked on some formula while feeding. The mother states she called EMS because it "seemed like forever" before the baby caught her breath. Your assessment reveals a respiratory rate of 46 and a heart rate of 144. The infant is jaundiced and does not acknowledge your presence. Which of the following is the best course of action?
A) Begin bag-valve-mask ventilations, consider intubation, select a scalp vein for cannulation, and transport emergently to the nearest appropriate facility.
B) Provide blow-by oxygen, check the blood glucose level, apply the cardiac monitor, check the oxygen saturation, and find out to which hospital the mother wants the baby to be transported.
C) Tell the mother that you need to transport the child and notify the triage nurse that she will need to arrange a child-protective-services evaluation.
D) Continue a focused history and assessment, reassuring the mother that newborns often choke and spit up during feeding.
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