In Schaffer's method of Artificial Respiration, the victim is made to lay on his belly, with one arm extended directly overhead and the other arm bent at the elbow. The face is turned outward and resting on the forearm. In this position, the nose and mouth are free for breathing. Now, the doctor kneels to the patient’s waist and puts his palm on the patient’s loin. The first step will be to apply the pressure by bending forward, then the doctor pushes the abdominal viscera to bring about the expiration. Pressing forward expiration takes place and the bending backwards inspiration takes place. According to some rough calculations, expiration lasts for 3 seconds and the inspiration lasts for 2 seconds. Some of the advantages of this method are its prone position, so that water from the abdomen and lungs can be easily drained,; it is a very simple method, non-tiring, and it can be continued for a long time.

This method can be applied, if there are injuries to the thorax or back. The main disadvantage of this method are that inspiration is passive and the expiration is active, which is not physiological. This method is not applied to patients with injuries in the abdomen.