Virginia Apgar Developed the Apgar Score. The Apgar Score is a test that tests a newborn baby's health. According to Medlineplus, “Apgar is a quick test performed on a baby at 1 and 5 minutes after birth. The 1-minute score determines how well the baby tolerated the birthing …show more content…
The Apgar Score tests the baby’s breathing effort, heart rate, muscle tone reflexes, and skin color to see how healthy the baby is after the first and fifth minute. The Apgar Score is scored out of 10 and each category is scored out of 2. If the baby is not breathing the score for breathing effort is 0. If the baby has slow or irregular breathing the score would be a 1. If the baby has regular breathing patterns or crying hard the score would be a 2. If there is no heart rate the baby gets a 0 for heart rate. If the baby’s heart rate is less than 100 beats per minute (bpm) the score is a 1. If the baby has a heart rate greater than 100 bpm the baby scores a 2 in heart rate. If the muscle tone is loose the baby scores a 0 for muscle tone. If there is some muscle tone the baby scores a 1. If there is active motion the newborn scores a 3. The next category is the newborn’s reflexes. If the baby has no reaction the baby scores a 0 in this category. If the baby scores a 1 it is because the baby has a reaction. If the baby scores 2 it means that the baby has a reaction and coughs, sneezes, or cries. If the skin color is pale blue the baby scores a 0 in the skin color category. If the skin is pink with some blue the baby scores a 1. If the skin is pink the baby scores a 2. A normal overall score is 7, 8, or 9. This means that the baby is in good health. If the score less than 7 the newborn needs