What Are Apgar Scores

Do you know what an Apgar score is? An Apgar score is given to your baby at one minute after birth and at five minutes after birth (or at 15 minutes after birth if a cesarean is done). Your baby's Apgar score will almost always increase at the five minute mark. This score is a range of 0-10 which helps doctors to know when baby needs additional medical attention immediately after birth.

Dr. Virginia Apgar invented the Apgar scoring system for newborns. This infant assessment system was published in 1953, but quickly became a worldwide standard. Prior to the Apgar scoring system, newborns were assumed to be in good health unless they showed obvious difficulty or defect. The Apgar scoring system is not an accurate assessment of long term health, only immediate need. Normal scores are between 7-10 points, however a score of 10 is rare.The score is given as a total.

Each of the following is given between 0-2 points.

Heart Rate- absent (0), below 100 beats/minute (1), above 100 beats/minute (2)

Respiratory Effort- absent (0), slow, irregular (1), good, crying (2)

Muscle Tone- limp (0), arms and legs flexed (1), active movement (2)

Reflex Irritability- no response (0), grimace (1), sneeze and pulling away (2)

Skin Color- blue-gray, pale all over (0), normal except hands and feet are bluish(1), normal color all over (2)

After the Apgar scoring system became standard, the categories were renamed to form the acronym APGAR. The acronym stands for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration.

Apgar scores cannot be used to determine a newborn baby's long term health. A thorough newborn exam will be done for your child within a few hours after birth.

Sources:

University of Maryland Medical Center- www.umm.edu/pregnancy/000129.htm

Lemelson-MIT Program- web.mit.edu/invent/iow/apgar.html