Virginia Apgar developed the Apgar score to test the immediate health of newborn babies right after birth.

Who the score tests

  • The Apgar score is a quick clinical test done on infants at 1 and 5 minutes after delivery.
  • It evaluates how well a newborn is adapting to life outside the womb and whether urgent medical help is needed.

What the test measures

  • The score looks at five signs: appearance (skin color), pulse (heart rate), grimace (reflexes), activity (muscle tone), and respiration (breathing effort). Each is rated 0–2, for a total of up to 10.
  • Higher scores mean the baby is in good condition, while low scores signal that the newborn may need immediate support such as resuscitation.

Why it matters today

  • The Apgar score became the first standardized, global method for assessing newborns, helping reduce infant mortality and shaping the modern field of neonatology.
  • It is still used worldwide in delivery rooms and is often described as the first “test” most people ever take in their lives.

TL;DR: Virginia Apgar developed the Apgar score to test the condition of newborn babies immediately after birth.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.