You are performing rescue breathing for a patient with a pocket mask. You notice that the stomach is getting very large. The most likely cause is:

• A. Overly Forceful Breaths
• B. Breathing Too Softly
• C. Mask Air Leak
• D. Chest Injury

Answer: (A)

Gastric inflation is the main idea here: when you deliver rescue breaths with a pocket mask, air should go into the lungs, not the stomach. If the stomach becomes very large, it means air is entering the stomach through the esophagus because the breath was delivered with too much force or volume. The fix is to give smaller, gentler breaths and watch for visible chest rise, not just to fill the lungs. Ensure a proper seal and airway opening, and ventilate at a rate that produces chest movement without overinflating. Breathing too softly wouldn’t inflate the belly, a mask air leak would more likely cause poor chest rise rather than abdominal distension, and a chest injury isn’t the cause of this sign.