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Apgar score
Key facts
- The Apgar score is a test used to check your baby's health when they are born.
- It is used at 1 minute and 5 minutes and occasionally at 10 minutes after birth.
- Your baby is given a score out of 10.
- A higher Apgar score is a sign that your baby is in good health at birth.
- The Apgar score helps your health team know if your baby needs extra care straight after birth.
What is the Apgar score?
The Apgar score is a test used by doctors and midwives to check your baby's health when they are born. It helps them understand if your baby needs any extra care at birth.
The Apgar score is used to check a newborn baby at 1 minute, 5 minutes and, if needed, 10 minutes after birth.
The test is named after Dr Virginia Apgar, who developed the score in 1952.
What does the Apgar score measure?
The Apgar score rates your baby's:
- skin colour
- heart rate
- reflexes and responsiveness
- muscle tone
- breathing
How is the Apgar score measured?
Each sign is scored from 0 to 2, with 2 being the best score. The scores for each sign are added together to give a total possible Apgar score out of 10.
| Sign | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin colour | Blue or pale body | Blue hands and feet | Completely pink skin |
| Heart rate | Absent | <100 beats per minute | >100 beats per minute |
| Reflexes and responsiveness | No response | Grimace (expressive) | Cry or active withdrawal |
| Muscle tone | Completely limp | Some flexion (stiffness) | Active motion |
| Breathing | Absent | Irregular or shallow breathing, weak cry | Good breathing effort, crying |
Blue hands and feet are normal for a newborn in their first hours of life. This is why the highest Apgar score is usually 9 out of 10.
What does the Apgar score mean?
An Apgar score of 7 or more at 5 minutes after birth shows that your baby is coping well after birth. If a baby scores below 7 at 5 minutes after birth, this is considered a low Apgar score.
If your baby's Apgar score is low at 5 minutes, your baby will most likely need help with breathing and the doctors will continue to closely monitor your baby.
What happens if my baby scores low on the Apgar test?
If your baby has a low Apgar score, they will need extra medical help.
Babies with an Apgar score below 7 at 5 minutes of life are more likely to need extra support with breathing or admission to the special care nursery or neonatal intensive care unit.
What causes a low Apgar score?
There are many factors that can affect an Apgar score. These include:
- health conditions or medicines affecting the mother
- factors that affect the baby — such as being premature
- the type of birth
- long labour
- long second stage of labour
The Apgar score reflects your baby's condition at birth and helps guide their immediate care.
Does the Apgar score predict future health problems?
Apgar scores are intended to check the immediate health of newborn babies. They are used to monitor babies and to make sure they get all the care they need straight after birth to help them adjust to life outside the womb.
Apgar scores are not intended to predict how a baby’s nervous system and brain will develop.
Resources and support
If you have any concerns, speak with your doctor, midwife or nurse.
The Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne has information on what happens after you give birth (Opens in new tab), including the Apgar score.
NSW Health (Opens in new tab) has helpful information on how Apgar scores are used by your health team, including why it’s collected and what it measures.
Information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples
Visit Birthing on Country (Opens in new tab) for information on projects that support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander babies and their families.
Find an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) (Opens in new tab) or affiliate near you.
Baby Coming You Ready (Opens in new tab) is a culturally safe support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents-to-be and new parents.
The Koori Maternity Service (Opens in new tab) program provides access to holistic, culturally safe maternity care for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Stronger Bubba Born (Opens in new tab) has resources for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander parents.
Languages other than English
The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (Opens in new tab) has a catalogue of culturally adapted health resources available in more than 70 languages.
Monash Health (Opens in new tab) has a range of translated resources including information on pregnancy and baby safety in many community languages.
Find out how we develop and review our content.
Last reviewed: February 2026
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Baby's health: the Apgar score - myDr.com.au
Find out about the Apgar newborn scoring system, the standardised technique that doctors use to determine the health of a baby within 5 minutes of its birth.
