An infant is described as completely pink, with a heart rate of 120, strong cough, active motion, and regular or strong cry. What is the APGAR score?

The APGAR score is a quick assessment method used to evaluate the health of a newborn shortly after birth. It assesses five criteria: Appearance (skin color), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace response (reflexes), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration (breathing effort). Each criterion is scored from 0 to 2, with a maximum possible score of 10.

In the scenario described, the infant presents several strong positive signs:

• Appearance: The infant is completely pink, indicating good oxygenation and circulation, which scores 2 points.

• Pulse: A heart rate of 120 beats per minute is also within the normal range for a newborn, contributing 2 points.

• Grimace response: A strong cough indicates a good reflex response, scoring 2 points.

• Activity: Active motion shows good muscle tone, which leads to another 2 points.

• Respiration: A regular or strong cry indicates effective breathing effort, again scoring 2 points.

When you sum up these scores (2 for appearance, 2 for pulse, 2 for grimace, 2 for activity, and 2 for respiration), the total reaches the maximum score of