The APGAR scoring system is a method of evaluating a baby’s health immediately after birth.

The five criteria of the Apgar score:
Skin color
Pulse rate
Reflex irritability grimace
Activity
Respiratory effort

The test is generally done at one and five minutes after birth, and may be repeated later if the score is and remains low. Scores below 3 are generally regarded as critically low, 4 to 7 fairly low, and over 7 generally normal. A low score on the one-minute test may show that the neonate requires medical attention but is not necessarily an indication that there will be long-term problems, particularly if there is an improvement by the stage of the five-minute test.

The test was named after its inventor, Virginia Apgar. In honor of her, and to help medical students learn, the name APGAR was been made into a backronym Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration.

Apgar score. (2016, September 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:39, September 26, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Apgar_score&oldid=741299685