APGAR SCORE
Mr. Aejaz Ahmad
INTRODCUTION
What is the APGAR SCORE?
The Apgar score is a scoring system doctors and nurses use to
assess newborns one minute and five minutes after they’re
born.
Dr. Virginia Apgar created the system in 1952, and used her
name as a mnemonic for each of the five categories that a
person will score. Since that time, medical professionals
across the world have used the scoring system to assess
newborns in their first moments of life.
Medical professionals use this assessment to quickly relay the
status of a newborn’s overall condition. Low Apgar scores
may indicate the baby needs special care, such as extra help
with their breathing.
• Usually after birth, a nurse or doctor may announce the
Apgar scores to the labor room. This lets all present
medical personnel know how a baby is doing, even if
some of the medical personnel are tending to the mom.
• When a parent hears these numbers, they should know
they’re one of many different assessments medical
providers will use. Other examples include heart rate
monitoring and umbilical artery blood gases. However,
assigning an Apgar score is a quick way to help others
understand the baby’s condition immediately after
birth.
How does the APGAR SCORE work?
• The APGAR SCORING system is divided into five
categories. Each category receives a score of 0 to 2
points.
• At most, a child will receive an overall score of 10.
• However, a baby rarely scores a 10 in the first few
moments of life.
• This is because most babies have blue hands or feet
immediately after birth.
CONTD….
• A: Activity/muscle tone
• 0 points: limp or floppy
• 1 point: limbs flexed
• 2 points: active movement
• P: Pulse/heart rate
• 0 points: absent
• 1 point: less than 100 beats per minute
• 2 points: greater than 100 beats per minute
• G: Grimace (response to stimulation, such as suctioning
the baby’s nose)
• 0 points: absent
• 1 point: facial movement/grimace with stimulation
• 2 points: cough or sneeze, cry and withdrawal of foot
with stimulation
CONTD….
• A: Appearance (color)
• 0 points: blue, bluish-gray, or pale all over
• 1 point: body pink but extremities blue
• 2 points: pink all over
• R: Respiration/breathing
• 0 points: absent
• 1 point: irregular, weak crying
• 2 points: good, strong cry
CONTD….
• The APGAR SCORES are recorded at one and five minutes. This
is because if a baby’s scores are low at one minute, a medical staff
will likely intervene, or increased interventions already started.
• At five minutes, the baby has ideally improved. If the score is very
low after five minutes, the medical staff may reassess the score
after
10 minutes. Doctors expect that some babies may have lower
APGAR SCORES.
• These include:
• premature babies
• babies born via cesarean delivery
• babies who had complicated deliveries
•
What’s considered a normal APGAR SCORE?
• A score of 7 to 10 after five minutes is “reassuring.” A score of 4 to
6 is “moderately abnormal.”
• A score of 0 to 3 is concerning.
• It indicates a need for increased intervention, usually in assistance
for breathing.
• A parent may see nurses drying off a child vigorously or delivering
oxygen via a mask.
• Sometimes a doctor, midwife, or nurse practitioner may
recommend transferring a patient to a neonatal intensive care
nursery for further assistance.
THANK YOU