Human Growth and Development / Unit 2 HGD 0212 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Reading the Apgar
The idea
Each Apgar sign is scored zero, one or two. Appearance is skin colour. Pulse is heart rate. Grimace is reflex irritability, the response to stimulation such as a mild pinch. Activity is muscle tone, from limp to active motion. Respiration is breathing effort. Most newborns score seven to nine, and very few score ten, because blue hands and feet are normal right after birth. Lower scores call for closer attention, and very low scores for immediate care.
In practice
A newborn crying strongly, pink in the body with blue hands and feet, and moving actively: a score of nine.
Where people slip
Some textbooks reverse two pairings; the standard pairs grimace with reflex irritability and activity with muscle tone. The score has limits: it reflects one moment, it is affected by the mother's sedation, it detects only major problems, and skin colour is harder to judge on darker skin, so some guidelines add pulse oximetry. A low score does not predict a child's long-term health.
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