This test was not developed to predict babies’ long-term health, behavior, intellectual level, personality, or performance. The test is designed to help healthcare professionals assess the physical condition to know whether or not she needs immediate medical care quickly.
With the time it takes to adjust to the new extrauterine environment, most babies respond very well to the necessary medical care. So instead of focusing so much on one number, dedicate yourself to enjoying the arrival of your newborn!
Jaundice in Newborns Most types of jaundice go away on their own. Some types require treatment to lower the level of bilirubin in the baby's blood. Guide for New Parents The nine long months of pregnancy and the shock of labor and delivery of her first baby are over. It's time to leave the hospital and bring your new baby home. Now is when you realize there is a lot to learn! What a Newborn Looks Like: What's Normal When you can see, touch, or inspect your newborn for the first time will depend on the type of delivery you are having, your condition, and the baby's condition. If you have an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, you should be allowed to hold your baby within minutes of giving birth. The first day of life You have been waiting for this day for months: You will finally meet your newborn baby. But if you are like most parents, you do not have a clear idea of what this first meeting will be like. It is a good idea to prepare for what your baby will do and what he will look like the first time you meet him. When your baby is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) Most of these babies enter the NICU during the first 24 hours after birth. How long they stay there depends on their health. Bonding with your baby A strong bond of union or attachment is created between parents and their babies. This bond makes parents want to shower their little one with love and affection, protect him, feed him and take care of him in every way. This bond causes parents to get up in the middle of the night to feed the baby when the baby is hungry and makes them watch out for his wide range of cries and whines. Your newborn's growth From the first day of your baby's life, doctors will monitor his weight, length, and head size. Growth is a good indicator of general health, and babies growing well are usually healthy, while poor growth can be an indicator of a health problem. You and Healthcare're Newborn You may have already had a prenatal visit with your child's future pediatrician to discuss specifics, such as when you will see the newborn for the first time, your office hours and call handling hours, who will replace you when you are not in the office and how emergencies that occur outside of visiting hours are handled. You may also get your pediatrician's opinion on some issues. Your child's checkup when he is a newborn What to expect during this visit. Neonatal screening Newborn screening is a public health service offered by every state in the US. All newborns are screened for a group of disorders that cannot be detected with the naked eye right after birth. Return home with your baby Whether your baby comes home directly from the hospital, arrives later (possibly after a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit), or arrives through an adoption agency, the arrival of the child is an event of great importance that you have probably dreamed of. Here we will show you how to prepare for that moment.
In 1952, Virginia Apgar MD proposed assessing newborns’ clinical condition during the first minutes of life and evaluating anesthetic and obstetrical practices. She proposed five objectives and easily measured clinical signs: cardiac frequency, respiratory effort, muscle tone, irritability, and color. The test was later named “Apgar Score Test.” Since then, all newborns have been evaluated using the Apgar score. This article reviews the uses and abuses of the Apgar test. It has been used to assess asphyxia, predict neurological damage, identify newborns that require reanimation, and as a survival predictor. It is concluded that the Apgar score is helpful to know the vitality of a newborn during his first minutes of life. It is a background that, along with acid-base state and evolution, allows the diagnosis of asphyxia and predicts survival. Therefore, after half a century of use, it remains useful (Rev Méd Chile 2002; 130: 925-30).
Neonatology Unit, Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile.
1 Student of Medicine from the Universidad de los Andes
In 1952, Dr. Virginia Apgar, anesthesiologist, proposed to evaluate the vitality of newborns (NBS) at the immediate moment of birth through five objective and easy-to-describe clinical signs and to relate the result to some anesthetic and obstetric practices1. The established clinical signs were: heart rate (HR), considered the most important in terms of diagnosis and prognosis. An HR of 100 to 140 per minute was given a score of two; if the HR was below 100, it obtained a score of one, and if there was no heartbeat, a score of zero. Respiratory effort (PE): a child in apnea or with weak panting-type breaths scored zero at one minute of birth, while one with vigorous breathing or crying was awarded two. A very irregular or weak EF received a score of one. Reflex irritability refers to the response to stimuli. The usual method was to observe the response when aspirating the oropharyngeal region or nostrils with a rubber probe; if the child responded with sneezing or coughing, he obtained a score of two, if he only made facial grimaces, it was one, and without a response, he was given zero. Muscle tone was an easy sign to evaluate; Complete flaccidity received a score of zero, and good tone with flexion of the limbs scored two. The color was the lousiest sign in their evaluation and caused much discussion among observers. All children were cyanotic at birth. The disappearance of cyanosis was directly dependent on two previous signs, heart rate, and respiratory effort. Comparatively, few children were given a score of two in color, and several were given zero. For mysterious reasons at that time, many children persisted with cyanosis of the hands and feet despite excellent ventilation and receiving oxygen. When evaluated at 5 and 10 min, hundreds of children did not achieve a score of 10 because they persisted with distal cyanosis.