Carrying your baby for the whole nine months during your pregnancy gets you to hope that the baby will be just fine and of course, healthy.
That was how I felt when I was pregnant with my baby. Right after he was born, I asked his Apgar Score to the doctor. Thank God the score was not disappointing at all.
What is Apgar Score? You might then ask.
Apgar Score is a measurement of a newborn’s response to birth and life outside the womb. It was first developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar to quickly evaluate a newborn’s physical condition after delivery and to determine any immediate need for extra medical or emergency care.
The score is obtained by doing a test to the newborn. Normally, it is done twice, once at one minute after birth, and again at five minutes after birth. If the results of both tests are low, the third one should be done at ten minutes after birth.
There are five factors used to evaluate the baby’s condition. Each factor is scored on a scale of 0 to 2. The factors are
- heart rate (pulse)
- breathing (rate and effort)
- activity and muscle tone
- grimace response (medically known as “reflex irritability”)
- appearance (skin coloration)
The highest score possible is ten. Yet, if the result of the first test is less than ten, no need to worry too much. A slightly low Apgar Score (especially at 1 minute) is normal for some newborns, especially those born after a high-risk pregnancy, cesarean section, or a complicated labor and delivery. A healthy premature baby might also have a low Apgar Score.
However, you also need to know that the test was not designed to predict a baby’s long-term health, behavior, intellectual status, or outcome.
So, are you laboring soon? Don’t forget to ask the score to your doctor or midwife, ok?
:)
