What do APGAR scores mean?

Babies who are born in a hospital will undergo quite a few medical examinations, and the first of those are APGAR tests. What do the APGAR scores mean for your baby, and how are they calculated?

The APGAR tests are simple and non-invasive. They can be carried out anywhere, including while your newborn is snuggling with you immediately after giving birth! APGAR stands for Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, and Respiration. The assessment determines the health of your baby on the most basic level, so your healthcare team knows whether or not the baby needs any extra help. APGAR tests are generally carried out at one and five minutes after birth, and sometimes at 10 minutes as well.

The APGAR scores go up to 10, which is the most perfect score. Scores between seven and 10 are good, APGARs between four and six are a worrying, and scores lower than three are alarming and mean the baby needs immediate help. It's normal for babies not to have a perfect score the first minute, but five minute APGARs should already be better if there were any problems. Each aspect of health that is being assessed gets zero, one, or two points after which all the points are added up to form the final score. Let's go through them;

Activity

0 - Baby not moving, limp
1 - Limited flexion of limbs
2 - Active movements

Pulse

0 - No heartbeat
1 - Heart rate at fewer than 100 bpm
2 - Healthy heart rate, minimum 100 bpm

Grimace

0 - No response when the baby's airways are suctioned (which is standard practice in hospitals)
1 - Baby grimaces while being suctioned
2 - Baby grimaces, objects, sneezes

Appearance