Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Apgar score is a quick way for health professionals to evaluate the health of all newborns at 1 and 5 minutes after birth and in response to resuscitation. [1] It was originally developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist at Columbia University, Virginia Apgar, to address the need for a standardized way to evaluate infants shortly after birth.
Pulse should be checked at distal and proximal sites. Evaluate whether it is normal, bounding, or thready, as well as, compare strength symmetry. Bounding is a stronger than normal pulse and thread a weaker. Unequal pulse is an abnormal finding and indicates a cardiovascular issue. [18]
These scores measure a variety of areas including the "neurological, social, and behavioral aspects of a newborn's functioning." [ 1 ] Additionally, "factors such as reflexes, responses to stress, startle reactions, cuddliness, motor maturity, ability to habituate to sensory stimuli, and hand-mouth coordination are all assessed."
The pulse may vary due to exercise, fitness level, disease, emotions, and medications. [11] The pulse also varies with age. A newborn can have a heart rate of 100–160 bpm, an infant (0–5 months old) a heart rate of 90–150 bpm, and a toddler (6–12 months old) a heart rate of 80–140 bpm. [12]
In newborn infants, capillary refill time can be measured by pressing on the sternum for five seconds with a finger or thumb, and noting the time needed for the color to return once the pressure is released (central CRT). The upper normal limit for capillary refill in newborns is 3 seconds. [11]
Annamarie Saarinen uses a mobile phone pulse oximeter to screen a newborn at Beichuan People's Hospital in Sichuan, China. The Newborn Foundation is credited with persuading the United States Department of Health and Human Services to formally recommend universal pulse oximetry screening for congenital heart defects in every child born in the United States. [1]
Image credits: an1malpulse #5. Animal campaigners are calling for a ban on the public sale of fireworks after a baby red panda was thought to have died from stress related to the noise.
Newborn screening by other methods than blood testing. Congenital deafness (HEAR) > 1 in 5,000; Secondary targets ... (Screened using pulse oximetry) - added in 2010 [3]