The birth of the long-awaited child for mom and dad is a great joy. In the first minutes of the child's life, doctors and midwives in the maternity ward conduct an examination. And only after a close inspection of the child is given to his mother. After the newly mum took the baby in his arms, it is happier than a person in the whole world to find, since the birth of a child is the most important thing in the life of every woman. But just as important for any mother is the health of her long-awaited baby.
But still, we are asking ourselves what is measured by midwives at the time of the birth of a child and what is the Apgar scale?
Apgar is the table by which the physical condition of the newborn is assessed. The data recorded in the Apgar table is simply necessary for further monitoring of the baby's health and the degree of care required.
Unlike mother, obstetricians assess and fix the baby's breathing, skin, muscle tone and reflexes. In the Apgar table, scores are scaled on a scale from zero to two points. Measurement and fixation of data occurs in the first and fifth minutes of a newborn's life, while the second estimate may be much smaller than the first.
How is the Apgar pulse measured?
If the child's heart rate exceeds a hundred beats per minute, then it is rated at the maximum score (2). If the baby's heartbeat is below one hundred beats per minute, then it is estimated at one point. And if the pulse is not present at all, then the score is set to zero points.
Breathing and screaming of the newborn.
If the child's breathing occurs with a frequency of 40-50 sighs and outputs per minute, and the cry at birth is sonorous and piercing, then such readings are counted at the level of two points. Weaker readings are recorded with 1 score. In the case of lack of breathing, and hence of crying in newborns, doctors set the score to zero points.
Muscle tone is determined by the position of the child in space, active chaotic movements of all limbs and the head. If the child is active at birth, then the maximum score is set. Also, if all the limbs of a child are stressed in tension, then this is also considered an excellent result. If the muscle tone of the newborn is not very active, then a score of one point is established. And in the absence of any movement in a newborn, the minimum score is set to zero.
Reflexes of a newborn on the Apgar scale.
A newborn child is simply vitally necessary for reflexes associated with his subsequent full-fledged life, namely: a swallowing and sucking reflex. In the first minutes of life the child can already reproduce elementary reflexes for sucking and swallowing breast milk, as well as reflexes for crawling and walking. If the child's reflexes are actively manifested, the child receives the maximum evaluation, and if these reflexes are more lethargic or not all expressed, the child receives a score of one point. The absence of any reflexes in the child is estimated at zero points.
Evaluation of the skin of the newborn.
The highest score in this evaluation deserves the child's skin pink or slightly bright color, the skin, as a rule, smooth without bruising and blue spots. If the skin is pale pink in color with a possible slight blue, then the score is set at one point on the Apgar scale. Too pale skin and visual absence of vital signs is estimated at zero points.
Indicators on the Apgar scale are needed only in the first days of a newborn's life. To help a needy child in time to help, the results of the examination and the level of the child's physical condition are needed. If the newborn was not active in the first minutes of his life, then this by no means indicates an anomaly or pathology.