2006-11-20 06:58:26 · 9 answers · asked by helen p 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
The very first test given to your newborn, the Apgar score occurs right after your baby's birth in the delivery or birthing room. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition after delivery 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: Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, and Respiration.
The Apgar test is usually given to your baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth. Rarely, if there are serious problems with the baby's condition and the first two scores are 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:
heart rate (pulse)
breathing (rate and effort)
activity and muscle tone
grimace response (medically known as "reflex irritability")
appearance (skin coloration)
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.
2006-11-20 07:02:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure what the acronym stands for. But I know that it is used to judge the coloring, reflexes, breathing, ect when a baby is first born and then again a few minutes later.
2006-11-20 07:03:07 · answer #2 · answered by Chula 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The very first test given to your newborn, the Apgar score occurs right after your baby's birth in the delivery or birthing room. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition after delivery 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: Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, and Respiration.
The Apgar test is usually given to your baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth. Rarely, if there are serious problems with the baby's condition and the first two scores are 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:
* heart rate (pulse)
* breathing (rate and effort)
* activity and muscle tone
* grimace response (medically known as "reflex irritability")
* appearance (skin coloration)
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.
Apgar Scoring
Apgar Sign
Heart Rate
(pulse) Normal (above 100 beats per minute) Below 100 beats per minute Absent
(no pulse)
Breathing
(rate and effort) Normal rate and effort Slow or irregular breathing Absent (no breathing)
Grimace (Responsiveness or "reflex irritability") Pulls away, sneezes, or coughs with stimulation Facial movement only (grimace) with stimulation Absent (no response to stimulation)
Activity
(muscle tone)
Active, spontaneous movement Arms and legs flexed with little movement No movement, "floppy" tone
Appearance
(skin coloration)
Normal color all over (hands and feet are pink) Normal color (but hands and feet are bluish) Bluish-gray or pale all over
A baby who scores a 7 or above on the test at 1 minute after birth is generally considered in good health. However, a lower score doesn't necessarily mean that your baby is unhealthy or abnormal. For example, a score between 4 and 6 at 1 minute indicates 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, and if your baby's score hasn't improved to 7 or greater, the doctors and nurses may continue any necessary medical care and will closely monitor your baby. Some babies are born with heart or lung conditions or other problems 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 of less than 7 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, or outcome. Few babies score a perfect 10, 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 normal 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 healthy 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. For the most part, though, most babies do very well, so relax and enjoy the moment!
Reviewed by: Serdar Ural, MD
2006-11-20 07:06:24 · answer #3 · answered by Xana 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The name Taylor is a ten, Rico would be a 5 Sean is a 5, Adjovi is a 10 because thar is unique. Caon is a 5
2016-05-22 00:13:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it depends on what country you are born in babies are not given that score in my country
2006-11-20 07:03:10 · answer #5 · answered by Candy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A, activity
P, pulse
G, grimace
A, appearance
R, respiration
this is what it says on my sons medical book for the midwife/health visitor. i don't know what your first answer was though maybe something else with the same initials!!
hope its helped!
2006-11-20 11:45:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It stands for American Pediatric Gross Assessment Record.
See the link below for details.
2006-11-20 07:01:38 · answer #7 · answered by mcfifi 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Activity
Pulse
Grimace
Appearance
Respiration
2006-11-20 07:01:57 · answer #8 · answered by Veronica 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
check out the baby search engine here...
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=010292655986361953228%3A9vnczvujyt4
2006-11-20 07:20:08 · answer #9 · answered by Up in the Air 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋