Assessment of the newborn on the Apgar scale

About the Apgar scale

The scale assumes a cumulative analysis of five criteria, each of which is evaluated completely from zero to two inclusive. The evaluation result can be in the range 0-10.

	0 points	1 point	2 points
Skin coloration	Generalized pallor or generalized cyanosis	Pink body coloration and cyanotic limb coloration (acrocyanosis)	Pink coloring of the whole body and limbs
Heart Rate	Missing	less than 100	less than 100
Reflex excitability	Not responding	The reaction is weakly expressed (grimace, movement)	Reaction in the form of movement, coughing, sneezing, loud screaming
Muscle tone	Missing, limbs hanging down	Reduced, some limb flexion	Expressed active movements
Breathing	Missing	Irregular, weak cry (hypoventilation)	Normal, loud scream

Interpretation

This testing is carried out in the first and fifth minutes after birth. A score below 3 indicates a critical condition of the newborn, more than 7 is considered a good condition (normal).

Additional information

The Apgar scale was developed for medical personnel to determine which children need more careful supervision. A child who gets 5 points needs more careful supervision than a child who gets 7 to 10 points. A child who received 5-6 points per minute on a scale after birth, but after five minutes increased his score to 7-10, becomes a child that you should not worry about. A child who started life with five points on the Apgar scale and remained with the same 5 points 5 minutes after birth needs more careful supervision. Perfect 10 points are rare.

The Apgar score at the 1st minute correlates with the pH of umbilical cord blood, this index indicates intrapartum asphyxia. The Apgar score at the 5th minute correlates with the final neurological outcome.