How Reliable is the Apgar Score?
New article reports on limited usefulness of Apgar score in research
A new article, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, examined data on Apgar scores using both the MANA Stats dataset and a large, hospital birth dataset from California. Results showed that the Apgar score is not an effective proxy for eventual infant well-being in research settings.
The article, authored by DOR members Marit Bovbjerg, Melissa Cheyney, and Jennifer Brown, focused specifically on implications for research, rather than clinical implications for care. (It does, however, highlight what many birth practitioners already know: immediately after birth, health care providers respond to the unique set of needs for each infant and those decisions are not based on the assessment of the Apgar score.) Continue reading.
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The purpose of the study was to explore the relative and absolute risks associated with a variety of maternal/fetal characteristics that may render a pregnancy at increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes within the context of planned, physiologic birth in the community setting. Looking globally at systems that have integrated maternity care, what we see is that the definition of “low-risk” varies markedly between systems. There is really no consensus on what constitutes a low-risk client... 
