Virginia Apgar
Virginia Apgar | |
|---|---|
Virginia Apgar (July 6, 1959) | |
| Born | June 7, 1909 Westfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1974 (aged 65) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Mount Holyoke College Columbia University Johns Hopkins University |
| Occupation | Anesthesiologist |
| Years active | 1937–1974 |
| Known for | Inventor of the Apgar score |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Doctor |
| Field | Anesthesiology, teratology |
| Sub-specialties | Obstetric anesthesiology |
| Notable works | Is My Baby All Right? A Guide to Birth Defects, with Joan Beck |
Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909 – August 7, 1974) was an American physician, obstetrical anesthesiologist and medical researcher, best known as the inventor of the Apgar score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after birth in order to combat infant mortality. In 1952, she developed the 10-point Apgar score to assist physicians and nurses in assessing the status of newborns. Given at one minute and five minutes after birth, the Apgar test measures a child's breathing, skin color, reflexes, motion, and heart rate. A friend said, "She probably did more than any other physician to bring the problem of birth defects out of back rooms." She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and introduced obstetrical considerations to the established field of neonatology.