APGAR Test for Newborns

Do You Know What Your Child Scored on the APGAR test?

July 21, 2009

It's a boy! It's a girl! It's...going off for its APGAR test! So many new mothers are in a state of bliss upon welcoming their child into the world that when it comes time for the newborn to undergo his APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) test, she hardly wants to let him go. Truth be told, it all happens within the babe's first five minutes of life so many parents don't even notice his quick removal for a few fleeting moments. As a mother of two children, one might think I could recall at least one of my baby's test results... but I don't. Do you know what your babe scored on his APGAR test?

Source: Getty

14 Comments

lickety split 3 years 43 weeks

#2 and #3 were 9 and 10. #1 was 10 & 10. #1 has severe autism, and at age 11 cannot speak, use sign language or a picture exchange system. so much for predictors.

Pampire 3 years 43 weeks

I have no idea what my oldest sons was but my youngest sons score was a 9 only because his skin color wasn't as pink as they thought it should be but he never had breathing problems or anything, thank god!

MissSushi 3 years 43 weeks

I have no idea what score my daughter had... i was losing blood and passing out, unresponsive after finally pushing her out and the doctor was denying that anything was wrong with me but working frantically to stop the bleeding.. the nurses just took the baby off and started cleaning her.

KAEB06 3 years 43 weeks

7 and 9

KAEB06 3 years 43 weeks

7 and 9

3 years 43 weeks

The Apgar Score is actually named after the female doctor, Dr. Virginia Apgar, who created the test in the early '50s after she realized there was no real, standardized way to evaluate a newborn's health. The APGAR acronym was created after the fact in the '60s by a male pediatrician and is a lazy mnemonic learning aid that not only glosses over the importance of Dr. Apgar's contribution to modern obstetrics but crudely describe what the test actually measures. Apgar Score is grammatically and factually correct; APGAR score is not.

POPSUGAR Moms 3 years 44 weeks

The nurse told me my daughter had a perfect score. No one ever said what my son's was because he wasn't breathing at birth so that was our biggest concern. He's a sharp lil guy now though:)