Apgar index in infants and what parents need to know

If you've ever had a baby, you should have seen the apgar score in your baby's wellness booklet released by the hospital after you gave birth. So you know what this indicator is? aFamilyToday Health will help you better understand this indicator in babies. 

Once born, the newborn will have an apgar test. However, do not expect your baby to have a perfect score. This is the baby's first test and has no predictive meaning in behavior and intelligence .

What is the apgar index?

The infant apgar index is the first health test your baby takes after birth to assess the overall health of the baby. This index is intended for the purpose of assessing the general health of an infant at birth.

When and why should I check the apgar index?

The apgar test is performed immediately after birth. Test scores are recorded 1 and 5 minutes after the baby is born.

The apgar index will provide information about your baby's physical health, helping the doctor determine which treatment should be taken immediately and in the future.

What are the evaluation criteria of this indicator?

Apgar index was assessed by 5 criteria of skin color, heart rate, stimulation reflex, movement and respiration.

Ranking of the apgar index in a newborn

To conduct the test for your baby, the doctor will measure 5 apgar scores and score on a scale of 0 to 2, the ideal total score of 5 indicators is 10. Healthy babies will have index This is out of 7 at first try. Children with a low score of 4-6 need medical assistance such as breathing oxygen or sucking up phlegm. Infants with an apgar score of less than 4 should be placed in an emergency situation.

At 5 minutes postpartum, a score of 7 to 10 is normal. If the score is below 7, the baby will have to continue to be monitored and tested every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. A lower than normal apgar score does not mean your baby will have long-term health problems.

Heartbeat:

0 - Loss of heartbeat

1 - Less than 100 beats per minute indicates the baby is not responding quickly

2 - More than 100 beats per minute indicates healthy baby

Respiratory:

0 - Not breathing

1 - Faint, uneven crying or gasping for breath

2 - Good, cry out loud

Move:

0 - No.

1 - Several flexing movements in the legs and arms

2 - Fold the legs and arms against the stretching movement

Irritating reflex:

0 - No response

1 - Winced, weakly crying

2 - Cry or pull back

Skin color:

0 - Baby's whole body is blue or pale

1 - Paleness in the extremities, ruddy body

2 - There is no pale pale, full body rupture.

In addition to the apgar index, what tests should your baby do in the first day of life? Please refer to the article What  will the baby's first day after birth look like?