Apgar scores are the way that your care provider assesses your baby’s health after being born, usually at 1 minute and at 5 minutes after birth. Most of the time, this can be assessed while your sweet baby lies on your chest, cuddled in your arms.
Apgar scores are assessing baby’s:
✨ Appearance – Skin Color/ Complexion
✨ Pulse – Heart rate
✨ Grimace – Response to stimulation
✨ Activity – Muscle tone
✨ Respiration – Breathing rate and effort
Each is scored 0 to 2, with 2 being the highest score, to determine if baby needs extra medical care.
If both Apgar scores are 7 or above, testing is discontinued.
Your care provider will add up each of the scores from these five factors, 10 being the highest possible score.
Very few babies receive an Apgar score of 10 as most babies’ hands and feet remain blue-ish until their blood is circulating properly.
Babies who receive a score of 7 or higher are considered to be in good health.
It does not mean that your baby is in poor health if they score below 7, it just means that they might need a little extra time and/ or help for their bodies to adjust to being in a completely new environment. Perfectly healthy babies sometimes have lower than usual scores, especially in the first few minutes after birth.
Luckily, this test can quickly determine if your baby needs immediate medical care. 💕
