What is the Apgar score?The Apgar score is a simple assessment of how a baby is doing at birth, which helps determine whether your newborn is ready to meet the world without additional medical assistance. Your practitioner will do this quick evaluation one minute and five minutes after your baby is born. This score – developed in 1952 by anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar and now used in modern hospitals worldwide – rates a baby's appearance, pulse, responsiveness, muscle activity, and breathing with a number from 0 to 2 (2 being the strongest rating). The five numbers are then totaled. It's easy to remember what's being tested by thinking of the letters in the name "Apgar": Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, and Respiration. Here's how each is used to assess a baby's condition at birth: Activity (muscle tone) Pulse (heart rate) Grimace (reflex response) Appearance (color) Respiration (breathing) What do the Apgar scores mean?The one-minute Apgar score If your baby scores between 4 and 6, he may need some help breathing. This could mean something as simple as suctioning his nostrils or massaging him, or it could mean giving him oxygen. If your baby scores 3 or less, he may need immediate lifesaving measures – a full-fledged resuscitation. Keep in mind that a low score at one minute doesn't mean that your baby won't be just fine eventually. Babies born prematurely or delivered by cesarean section, for example, sometimes have lower-than-normal scores, especially at one minute. The five-minute Apgar score Click on the YouTube link to hear what the Doc has to say. Enjoy!
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