The Apgar score looks for key indicators that your baby might need additional care to help them adapt after their birth. Healthcare providers can use it to determine if your baby needs additional care, and recording it can help them track your baby’s status up to 20 minutes after birth.
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The Apgar score is a tool healthcare providers use to assess how your baby is doing immediately after being born. It lets providers quickly determine if your baby might need extra care.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
One thing the Apgar score can’t do is predict what will happen for your baby, specifically. It can’t predict their intelligence, how they’ll develop or their health status. And the Apgar score isn’t the only thing your baby’s providers rely on when determining the care your baby needs.
The original Apgar score considers five factors:
Each of the above five criteria can score from 0 to 2. The total score for the test can range from 0 to 10. Higher scores are better. Experts classify the scores like so:
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Your baby’s provider will check this score at least twice, at one and five minutes after birth. If your baby’s five-minute score is under 7, they’ll check the score at five-minute intervals until 20 minutes after birth.
In addition to the original Apgar score system, experts now use an expanded version. That version lets providers keep a record of any advanced care your baby received early on.
One of the key limitations of the Apgar score is that it scores pink skin higher but doesn’t account properly for darker skin. Some experts recommend using color from babies’ lips, tongue and gums as being a better indicator. Those areas are a better indicator than skin color itself. But more research is necessary to establish the criteria to score those areas.
An Apgar score of 7 or higher is ideal. Don’t worry if your baby doesn’t score a 10. It isn’t common for babies to have a perfect score because it can take several minutes for their circulation to ramp up after birth.
An Apgar score under 7 means your baby might need supportive care. Some examples of that kind of care include:
A low Apgar score means your baby needs more help adjusting to life outside of your uterus. Most low Apgar scores happen because of, or in connection with:
Many factors can affect your baby’s transition. And you can’t totally control how your pregnancy, labor and delivery go. Know that it’s not your fault if your baby has a low Apgar score.
Dr. Virginia Apgar, an anesthesiologist, first described the Apgar score in 1952 and published a research paper about it a year later. But when she created it, the scoring system didn’t use the letters of her name for the features it measured. A pair of pediatricians from Colorado came up with that in 1962, using her name as a way to make the scoring system easier to remember.
It’s understandable if you’re worried about what your baby’s score means for them and their future. Your baby’s Apgar score is a useful tool for healthcare providers, but the score doesn’t predict their future.
No matter the score, your baby’s healthcare providers will do everything they can to help and support your baby. Most of the time, a lower Apgar score just means your baby needs a little extra support as they adjust after birth.
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Last reviewed on 04/30/2025.
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