What Is An Apgar Score?

Simple Explanation For A Newborn With Blue Hands and Blue Feet

Have you ever noticed a brand new baby has blue hands and feet? Well, they do. When the baby is born, his entire circulatory system has to make a significant change. The baby takes his first breath and his body needs to begin to oxygenate. If you look at the newborn the minute they are born their body, hands, head, feet, etc. are all blue. As the baby begins to cry (which we want them to do) they "pink up." As they pink up the oxygen rich blood begins circulating. This is a very big deal. The heart, liver, lungs, brain, etc. (the vital organs) are fed this blood flow first. This is because we cannot live without our vital organs. We can live without our hands and feet. So, those furthest extremities are provided circulation last. Your baby may have blue hands and feet for several hours or even a few days. It is not anything to be alarmed by. 

This photo below shows the blue lower legs and feet on a newborn. 

Now here is where the Apgar Score comes in;

This scoring is a visual test done by the nurse/Doctor/Midwife. They are looking and assessing the newborn. The infant gets a score at 1 minute and at 5 minutes. If your baby delivers and is feisty, and crying, the score will be 8 or 9. The only time this score "really matters" Is if your baby is a "bad" baby, meaning he is having distress and isn't moving, crying, or has a slow or no heart rate.

So, what do you really need to know about all this? If your baby gets a score of  8 at the one minute mark, he is only losing 2 points. And if he is crying and moving, etc, but he is blue everywhere, he is losing the 2 points on color. If he gets 9, he has become pink everywhere, but those extremities (hands, lower legs, feet, etc.)


Hope this simple explanation helps you understand the scoring.


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