Have you heard of APGAR before?
Apgar is a scoring system that was developed in the 50s in New York by Virginia Apgar and is used today worldwide.
Apgar is routinely used in labor to assess the newborn baby's vitality immediately after birth.
When scoring according to apgar, an evaluation is made of the baby's:
A - Appearance (Skin color).
P - Pulse (Heartbeat).
G - Grimace
A - Activity (Muscle tone).
R - Respiration (Breathing).
This is done with a scoring between 0-2 points in each area first after 1 min, then after 5 min and then again after 10 min. High apgar, a combined number of 7-10, shows that the baby is doing well.
This is not something that parents usually notice, the baby lies on the mother's chest while staff do a visual check after the birth. But now you know that staff are closely monitoring your little baby.
Baby's skin color
It is common for babies to have a reddish color after birth, the red color is due to their own high blood count. Hands and feet have a bluish color which may remain so during the first week of life. This is due to immature blood circulation.
If you feel worried or have questions about your baby's well-being, always contact the maternity care, BVC, Vårdguiden (similar in your region) or the children's emergency room!
Big hug,
Sandra