Question

A baby's heart beat is approximately 55beats per minute. What score would the baby receive and why?

Answer 1

Apgar scoring is recorded in all newborn infants at 1 minute and 5 minutes. In infants scoring less than 7, expanded Apgar score recording is encouraged by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Academy of Pediatrics as a method of monitoring response to resuscitation.......... There are five parts of an Apgar score. Each category is weighted evenly and assigned a value of 0, 1, or 2. The components are then added together to give a total score that is recorded at 1 and 5 minutes after birth. A score of 7 to 10 is considered reassuring, a score of 4 to 6 is moderately abnormal, and a score of 0 to 3 is deemed to be low in full-term and late preterm infants. At 5 minutes, when an infant has a score of less than 7, Neonatal Resuscitation Program guidelines recommend continued recording at 5-minute intervals up to 20 minutes. It should be noted that scoring during resuscitation is not equivalent to that of an infant not undergoing resuscitation because resuscitative efforts alter several elements of the score.