Baby

American-born Virginia Apgar devised the test of newborn health that bears her name in the 1950s. The Apgar score is a reliable assessment of a newborn baby’s physical condition, used by caregivers to assess whether a newborn needs medical support. A score between seven and ten is considered normal, four to seven means the baby may require some medical support to help regulate breathing, and a score of three or below means the baby requires immediate resuscitation. Apgar scores are recorded at birth and at 5 minutes of age.

Sign	0 points	1 point	2 points
Appearance (skin colour)	pale or blue-gray all over	normal, except for arms and legs	normal over entire body
Pulse (heart rate)	absent	less than 100 beats per minute	100 beats per minute or higher
Grimace (reflex)	no response	grimace	squeeze, cough, or pulls away
Activity (muscle tone)	absent	arms and legs are reflexed	active movement
Respiration	absent	breathing is slow or irregular	breathing is good, baby is crying

Spring 2002