Has any of you had a baby whose apgar score was 0 at birth?

Question

Now that the kid is older, is he/she disabled or not? Was his/her brain damaged at birth? My baby was born with apgar 0, they resusciated him in 5 minutes. He is 3 weeks now and I am freaked out he will be disabled or something because his brain was without oxygen for nobody know how long. Not that I would love him any less if it turned out he is going to have some problems later, I would just like to know other people experiences. Thanks!

Answer 1

He may not have any long term problems. The first apgar score is important, but the second is just as important. What was his second score? If that was normal, he may not have any problems at all.

Answer 2

I know that a 0 isn't good at all. I gave birth to a downs baby (he's 5 now) but he was born with a 9 apgar. The one thing I do know is raise him as a normal kid. You never know what will happen. He might be a little slow. However if he has shown no major symptoms - he could be fine.

Answer 3

My sons apgar score was a 4. He is 6 months old now and seems to be fine, but I'm sure it's too early to tell anything long term. However, in April he will be going to see a neurologist because he doesn't use his right arm properly. Which my doctor reassured me that he doesn't think anything is wrong that occupational therapy won't help but he just wants to be sure.

My sons apgar score was so low because I had HELLP Syndrome and it was depriving him of the sources he needed to grow. He had stopped growing at about 29 weeks and I had an emergency c-section at 32 weeks. He weighed 2 pounds 13 ounces and was 15 inches long.

Answer 4

Both my kids had awesome Apgar scores but I used to work with kids who had disabilities. You can stimulate his mind and help him develop pathways around any area that may have been damaged by teaching him as you would any child but teach him lessons in many different ways. Use all five senses and repeat each lesson many times in different settings. Don't just tell him you are mom, say it when he is touching you or nursing etc, sing it in a song, look him in the eyes and let him see that you love him and are his mom, this helps him feel, see, hear and absorb the word and idea mom. This works with everything. As I'm sure the doctors told you, only time will tell what if any brain damage their may be. Talk with his pediatrician at his appointments and whenever you get to worried to sleep etc. Read books on developmental milestones and activities to stimulate them but don't dwell on timelines. My almost-two-year-old is incredibly intelligent, he (like his older brother) could sit up at three months and started saying Mom and Dad at five months. He still doesn't really feel the need to talk though. He has said some 200+ words but most of them just once. He still just points and grunts a lot except for the occasional "Hep me" we prefers we use intuition to meet his needs. Your son may be able to do lots but may have stubbornness or laziness issues, most babies do at some point so don't worry if you aren't checking every box in the developmental list.
I hope that helps.

Answer 5

A zero apgar at birth with the need to resuscitate... he will probably have some extent of brain damage from the lack of oxygen. It can vary greatly... some children just have difficulty learning to speak, others can have severe cerebral palsy. My recommendation is to have your peditrician keep a close eye on developmental milestones. I have worked with preschoolers with disabilities for 5 years now, and I love it- it is my passion. I have had quite a few of them with oxygen deprivation at birth, and most make great strides in development with early intervention. If your doctor feels that your child is having difficulty meeting common developmental milestones, you can have your child assessed for FREE at your local Regional Center. Regional Centers provide the funding for children with special needs under 3 years of age. This would be your first stop for early intervention services. The earlier your child receives intervention (if he ends up needing help) the better his chances for developing on track are. Just keep a close eye on his milestones to make sure he is developing on track.

Answer 6

no