Apgarscore
Your obstetrician or gynecologist will determine the Apgar score after birth. This is a score that quickly forms a picture of your baby's condition. Your baby will be assessed on five items, for which he will receive zero, one or two points. The components are: color, heart action, response to stimuli, muscle tension and breathing.
If your baby scores two points on all parts, he gets a ten, a top score! With a score of 7 or lower, the baby sometimes needs some help, for example with some extra oxygen. When the baby is one minute old, he already gets the first digit. This is repeated when the baby is five and ten minutes old. Usually a baby scores less in the first minute than in the test after five and ten minutes, because he still needs to recover from the birth.
HISTORY
The test was introduced in 1952 by Dr. Virginia Apgar. In 1963, the American pediatrician Dr. Butterfield came up with an easy mnemonic for the obstetric care provider:
- A: Appearance (color)
- P: Pulse (heart action)
- G: Grimace (response to stimuli)
- A: Activity (muscle tension)
- R: Respiration (breathing)
So together: APGAR!
