In case your baby book has a spot for the APGAR numbers or someone asks what your baby’s APGAR score was, you can tell them. Congratulations…your baby has been born and you are super excited to bond and learn all about them. If your baby is doing well, this FIRST assessment is done quietly and quickly […]
APGAR
In case your baby book has a spot for the APGAR numbers or someone asks what your baby’s APGAR score was, you can tell them.
Congratulations…your baby has been born and you are super excited to bond and learn all about them. If your baby is doing well, this FIRST assessment is done quietly and quickly and most parents don’t even notice. It can be done by your doctor, midwife or nurse. This will be the first of many tests your child will be given and it happens at 1 minute and 5 minutes after delivery. The 1 minute score is to see if there is an immediate need for further medical intervention while the 5 min score is to see how they are progressing to life outside the womb.
The “apgar” score is a quick tool to see how your baby is tolerating life on the outside. It was developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar to quickly evaluate the baby to see if he/she needs further medical attention. It scores your baby in 5 different areas:
Appearance (skin color)
Pulse (heart rate)
Grimace response (reflexes)
Activity (muscle tone)
Respiration (breathing rate and effort)
Each of these 5 areas is given a score of 0, 1 or 2 for a max total of 10 points for the baby. You will have to wait for the Olympics as a perfect 10 is RARELY given!
Appearance(skin color)
2-Normal color all over (hands and feet are pink)
1-Normal color (but hands and feet are bluish)
0-Bluish-gray or pale all over
Pulse (heart rate)
2-Normal (above 100 beats per minute)
1-Below 100 beats per minute
0-Absent (no pulse)
Grimace (“reflex irritability”)
2-Pulls away, sneezes, coughs, or cries with stimulation
1-Facial movement only (grimace) with stimulation
0-Absent (no response to stimulation)
Activity (muscle tone)
2-Active, spontaneous movement
1-Arms and legs flexed with little movement
0- No movement, “floppy” tone
Respiration (breathing rate and effort)
2-Normal rate and effort, good cry
1-Slow or irregular breathing, weak cry
0-Absent (no breathing)
It is not uncommon for the 1 min score to be lower as your baby is still figuring life out (hands and feet are still bluish), what IS important is the 5 min score. This score has NO prediction on your baby’s long term health; it is just a tool to help the health care professionals quickly decide if your baby requires a little more medical intervention.
Most times, baby is resting comfortably on mom while the health care professional is doing the quick assessment. A normal score is between seven and nine. A score between four and six might mean the baby needs some oxygen or a little suction to clear its airway. A difficult delivery, prematurity or other issues can cause the lower score, but if there are any concerns, your doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional will let you know what is happening and what course of action will be taken.
Being born is hard work for both mom and baby, sometimes baby just needs time to adjust to their new environment, so don’t panic and don’t focus on the numbers, just enjoy your baby!
This will be the FIRST of a life full of tests, at least this one is quick and painless for everybody.