A-P-G-A-R SCORING o Still a score between 8 to 10 means that the baby is

in good shape. A lower score will alert the

HISTORY:
physician and medical staff to perform more tests
 In 1952, Dr. Virginia Apgar, an American and put the newborn under observation. 12
Anesthesiologist, devised a Scoring system that
helped evaluate a newborn's Condition after birth to
help for determine any urgent need emergency or
extra medical care. The method known as APGAR
scale. The numerical expression of a baby's
Condition at birth in a scale of 1 to 10.

Five FACTORS that Composes APGAR Scoring:

Appearance or skin color

 Is observed, and what is considered normal skin

color is pink, although at birth, acrocyanosis
(bluish hands and feet, pink body) may be present.
Because of this, a perfect APGAR score of 10 is
not very common.
 On the other hand, a generalized skin color of blue-
gray, purple, paleness all over can mean an
insufficient supply of oxygen.

Pulse or heart rate

 Is the number of heart beats per minute (bpm). For

APGAR scoring purposes, 100 bpm is the number
of beats used-either 0, above 100bpm-The normal
heart rate usually ranges from 120 to 160 bpm in
newborns.

Grimace or reflex irritability

 Measure a baby's response upon stimulation of

nasal passages, usually with a nasal catheter as
suction bulb, the baby either has no response, just
grimaces, sneezes or coughs, or actively avoids that
stimulus.

Activity or muscle tone

 Is reflected by the position of the limbs; normal

would be the arms and legs actively moving.

Respiratory effort

 Describes how the baby breathes, e.g., not

breathing, slow, not regular gasping, or breathes
normally, with regular, inhalation and exhalation
(the normal rate for newborns is 30-60 cpm) and
has a good cry.

KEEP IN MIND:

o Although 10 is the highest possible score. It

common as babies to almost never receive it. This
is due to presence of acrocyanosis for even a
healthy newborn, who are not yet pink five minutes
after birth. To get that full score of 2 for
appearance, a baby has to have normal coloration
all over.