Apgar Testing

Apgar Testing

The article that I chose is on the Apgar Test. Apgar testing is done on newborns at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth (Center, 2011). The test performed test the newborn baby for color, heart rate, stimulus response, muscle tone, and respirations. The score is 0-2 in each area with 7 being the ideal number for the baby. Most of the time the baby will receive a high score and not need any further assistance after birth but there are times where babies are born in distress. One may be from where their umbilical cord is around their neck or possibly pinched during birth (Cooper, 2010). Medications the mother received during delivery can also affect the score of the newborn (Cooper, 2010). I chose this article because I feel that this is an important topic that most new parents are not aware of. This is also a topic that should be expanded for newborns since there could be problems that arise more than just five minutes after birth.

The words APGAR stand for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respirations. The appearance is judged by the color of the skin, the baby would get 2 points for all over pink skin, 1 point for pink skin with blue hands and feet, and 0 points if the baby were to be all blue. The pulsed is judged by how many beats per minute the baby is getting. 100+ beats per minute the baby would get a score of 2 points, less than 100 beats per minute the baby would only get 1 point, and 0 beats per minute the baby would get a score of 0. The grimace is judged by the baby's reflex to stimuli. If the baby responded well to being stimulated it would get 2 points. A slight response would be 1 point and no response at all would be 0 points. The activity is judged by the muscle tone of the baby. Vigorous movement would be 2 points, some movement would be 1 point, and no movement at all would be 0 points. The last thing judged is the respirations. The baby would get 2 points for clear visible breathing, 1 point for slow weak breathing, and 0 points for apnea or no breathing at all (Center, 2011).

I really think this test is good for newborns and can let doctors know if something is wrong with a baby but there should be testing done more for the newborn than just at 1 and 5 minutes of birth. I think even without these testing nurses and doctors would be able to visibly see that a newborn was in distress and get it care right away. I really think that most new mom's rely on this score and are unaware to look for problems to arise within 24-48 hours after birth in their newborns. From previous experience with my own children who all had normal Apgar score's they still had problems within the first 24-48 hours of birth. More parents should be aware that the Apgar score's do not mean that their baby will not have issues. I think that more research should be done to provide a test that can be done at either 24 or 48 hours after birth to reassess