Within one minute of your baby’s birth, medical staff perform a quick assessment that can reveal critical information about how your child handled delivery. The APGAR score—named for Dr. Virginia Apgar who developed it in 1952—evaluates five key indicators of newborn health. This simple test, performed again at five minutes after birth, can be the first evidence that something went wrong during labor and delivery.
What the APGAR Measures
The APGAR score evaluates five categories, each worth 0-2 points for a maximum total of 10:
- Appearance: Skin color (blue/pale, pink body with blue extremities, or fully pink)
- Pulse: Heart rate (absent, below 100 bpm, or above 100 bpm)
- Grimace: Reflex response to stimulation (no response, grimace, or cry)
- Activity: Muscle tone (limp, some flexion, or active movement)
- Respiration: Breathing effort (absent, slow/irregular, or strong cry)
A score of 7-10 is considered normal. A score of 4-6 indicates the baby needs medical attention. A score below 4 means the baby requires immediate, life-saving intervention.
What Low APGAR Scores Reveal
Low APGAR scores reveal what went wrong during delivery. A baby with poor color, weak pulse, and minimal breathing likely suffered oxygen deprivation from umbilical cord compression, placental abruption, or prolonged labor. Low muscle tone and weak reflexes indicate birth trauma from improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors.
When the one-minute score is low but improves by five minutes, the baby was in distress but responded to intervention. When both scores remain low, severe complications were developing that should have triggered earlier action.
When Low Scores Point to Medical Negligence
APGAR scores become evidence when they reveal medical staff failed to act on warning signs. If fetal monitoring showed distress but doctors didn’t respond quickly enough, the low APGAR score documents that delay. When low scores correlate with prolonged labor, it suggests the team should have performed a C-section sooner. Delivery instrument trauma that results in low scores indicates improper technique.
The medical team’s response matters too—failure to provide immediate resuscitation when faced with a score below 4 compounds the original negligence.
Your Baby’s Score Matters
APGAR scores are recorded in your baby’s permanent medical record. If your child suffered a birth injury and had low APGAR scores, those numbers are crucial evidence that something went wrong during delivery and whether the medical team responded appropriately.
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can help you with your birth injury claim. When medical negligence harms your child during delivery, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (877) 614-9524 so I can evaluate your case right away.
