The first ten minutes after birth are critical in the baby's life. He Apgar test It is a score that is performed at one minute, at five minutes, and sometimes, at 10 minutes after birth, which allows the general condition of the baby to be assessed.
The five signs that are evaluated are:
- Heart rate: heart beat frequency.
- Breathing: normal, slow or zero.
- Muscle tone: strength of movements, limb flexion.
- Reflexes: if the baby sneezes or coughs when aspirated with a nasal tube, it indicates a good response to the stimulus.
- Skin color: pinkish, bluish or pale
Each of these parameters is scored from 0 to 2 and the sum of the five reaches a maximum score of 10. If the result is 8 to 10 points, it indicates that the baby is in good condition. If it is 4 to 6, it indicates that something is not going well and requires immediate action. If you are younger than 4, you need emergency care such as assisted breathing or medication. After five minutes, the same evaluation is carried out, assessing the adaptation of the baby to the environment, so the result should be greater than the first and greater than 7 points.
The test is named after its inventor, Dr. Virgina Apgar, an anesthesiologist, who in 1952 proposed to standardize the response of newborns to five clinical parameters.
Over more than 50 years, this method has reduced the mortality rate (death rate) and the morbidity rate (disease rate) by assessing the vitality of newborns immediately after birth.
