hey mommas!!! I was just wondering if any of you's know how the APGAR testing works .. i'm in college and cannot understand how the rating works 7 is good 4 is bad under 3 is baby needs severe help but something gets added and substracted... Thats what my teacher told a few grls. I failed my course by 3 marks just because i didn't understand the ApGAR and also how do you do APA style writing back in the day when i went to highschool i was never taught APA style writing is it just (Smith, 2001 pg.5) ?? Sorry i have some learning dificulities and i need things to make sense to me. And corrected so i know them for the next time around . Any type of advice would be greatly appreciated.
the baby is scored at 1 minute after birth and again at 5 minutes. 10 is the highest score, 9 is fine though. so an Apgar of "8/9" would mean 8 points at one minute, 9 points at 5 minutes. If memory serves, the things scored are color (nice pink color), respirations, cry (strong cry is normal), heartrate, and that's all I can remember. I dont know anything about APA style.
APGAR = Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance & Respiration... with a possible total of 2 points each for a "perfect 10" baby. love, mom
Appearance - blue all over =0 /blue at extremities=1 /pink all over=2 Pulse (heartrate) - Absent=0/ <100 = 1/ >100 = 2 Grimace (response to stimulation) - no response=0/ weak cry, grimace=1/ vigorous response (pulls away, cries) =2 Activity -(muscle tone) floppy, no flexion =0/ some flexion=1/ active, well flexed=2 Respirations (breath rate) none=0/ weak, irregular, <40 breathes per minute=1/ resp rate between 40 and 70 = 2 Anything over 7 at one minute is fine, less than 7 may require more stimulation, less than 4 may require rescussitation. So, you have a one minute old baby, and you look him over and notice 1) pink body, but blue hands and feet 2) heart rate of 136 BPM 3)while drying him off, he cries weakly and makes a face 4) arms and legs floppy, but when you touch his feet/hands, he pulls away 6) he is breathing regularly at a rate of 44 RPM. Start at a perfect 10, and subtract points as needed. for 1) you take one point off for the blue hands and feet =1 for 2) his heart rate is perfect, so his score is =2 for 3) he has some response, so you subtract one point =1 for 4) he has some flexion, but arms and legs flop when not being stimulated, and his eyes are open and looking around, take one point off= 1 for 5) his breathing is strong, regular, and unlabored, you score him =2 Total score = 7 So this newborn is most likely taking a little more time to transition and will respond well to stimulation (drying, mama stroking and talking to him, skin to skin contact with mama). When you check him again at 5 minutes, his hands and feet are still blue, but body pink. Heart rate still strong at 148 BPM. He cries lustily when you change the towels and put a fresh cap on his head. He waves his arms/legs around and then pulls his arms and legs close to his body when you reposition him. His breathing is clear and steady with a rate of 52 RPM. Baby now scores a 9, with one point off for the acrocyanosis (blue hands and feet). or this baby One minute; 1) Pink all over 2) HR 144 BPM 3) crying, "angry" face 4) arms and legs flexed and resistant to being touched 5) breathing strong and steady at a rate of 48 RPM A perfect 10! Most likely he'll still be a perfect 10 at 5 minutes. basically APGAR determines whether or not you need to provide more stimulation to get baby going, or if you need to provide more interventions (positive pressure ventilation, chest compressions, deep suctioning, etc) or if you can leave baby alone to meet his mama in peace.
Thank you so much for making me understand that. i failed miserably in that course and have to approach the Dean in completion of my Whole program. I wasn't told by anybody how the apgar was totalled or minused or added or anything. The teacher just assumed with everything in front of us we knew. again thx Teri
Alexis got a 9 at 1 minute and a 10 at 5 minutes. The only reason one point was counted off at first was because the VERY TIPS of her 2 middle fingers were blue-ish. What a crock.
