About the Apgar Score

The Apgar score, the very first test given to your newborn, occurs in the delivery or birthing room right after your baby's birth. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition and to determine any immediate need for extra medical or emergency care.

Although the Apgar score was developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar, you may have also heard it referred to as an acronym for: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration.

The Apgar test is usually given to a baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth. Sometimes, if there are concerns about the baby's condition or the score at 5 minutes is low, the test may be scored for a third time at 10 minutes after birth.

Five factors are used to evaluate the baby's condition and each factor is scored on a scale of 0 to 2, with 2 being the best score:

1. appearance (skin coloration)
2. pulse (heart rate)
3. grimace response (medically known as "reflex irritability")
4. activity and muscle tone
5. respiration (breathing rate and effort)

Doctors, midwives, or nurses add these five factors together to calculate the Apgar score. Scores obtainable are between 10 and 0, with 10 being the highest possible score.

What Apgar Scores Mean

A baby who scores an 8 or above on the test is generally considered in good health. However, a lower score doesn't mean that your baby is unhealthy or abnormal. But it may mean that your baby simply needs some special immediate care, such as suctioning of the airways or oxygen to help him or her breathe, after which your baby may improve.

At 5 minutes after birth, the Apgar score is recalculated. If your baby's score was low at first and hasn't improved, or there are other concerns, the doctors and nurses will continue any necessary medical care and will closely monitor your baby. Some babies are born with conditions that require extra medical care; others just take a little longer than usual to adjust to life outside the womb. Most newborns with initial Apgar scores that are a little low will eventually do just fine.

It's important for new parents to keep their baby's Apgar score in perspective. The test was designed to help health care providers assess a newborn's overall physical condition so that they could quickly determine whether the baby needed immediate medical care. It was not designed to predict a baby's long-term health, behavior, intellectual status, personality, or outcome. Very few babies score a perfect 10, since their hands and feet usually remain blue until they have warmed up. And perfectly healthy babies sometimes have a lower-than-usual score, especially in the first few minutes after birth.

Keep in mind that a slightly low Apgar score (especially at 1 minute) is common for some newborns, especially those born after a high-risk pregnancy, cesarean section, or a complicated labor and delivery. Lower Apgar scores are also seen in premature babies, who usually have less muscle tone than full-term newborns and who, in many cases, will require extra monitoring and breathing assistance because of their immature lungs.

If your doctor or midwife is concerned about your baby's score, he or she will let you know and will explain how your baby is doing, what might be causing problems, if any, and what care is being given.

With time to adjust to the new environment, and with any necessary medical care, most babies do very well. So rather than focusing on a number, just enjoy your new baby!

Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD
Date reviewed: November 2011
Originally reviewed by: Serdar H. Ural, MD