A method of bag valve mask ventilation (BVM) in which the resuscitator compresses the self-inflating bag between the open palm and body was compared with both standard single resuscitator and two-resuscitator BVM ventilation. Eighteen subjects ventilated a modified recording manikin using each method in random order. The tidal volume (VT) was greater with the open palm (mean 684 (SD 182) ml) than standard single resuscitator ventilation (mean 520 (152) ml). The difference was greater in the nine subjects with small hands (mean 196 (103) ml). VT was less than with two-resuscitator ventilation (mean VT 953 (236) ml).