Dr Virginia Apgar, Inventor of the Apgar Score Honoured by Google Doodle on Her 109th Birth Anniversary
She introduced a very important concept of the Apgar score, important in studying the health of a newborn baby after its birth.
Dr. Virginia Agpar was one of the pioneers in the field of medical science. She was an American obstetrical anesthesiologist. She introduced a very important concept of the Apgar score, important in studying the health of a newborn baby after its birth. She was born on June 7, 1909 In New Jersey. On her 109th birth anniversary, search giant Google has honoured her with a Doodle.
Virginia Apgar had a deep interest in science and she knew she'd make her best in the field of medicine. Proving herself right, she practised anesthesiology and made a very important tool called the Apgar score in 1952. An Apgar score is a quick method to analyse the health of newborn child immediately after the birth. The score identifies five criterias- Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration. The test is done within one to five minutes of a child's birth and may be repeated if the scores are low. The units are 0 to 10, with 7 and above being normal, 4 to 6 fairly low, and 3 and below are critical.
The Google doodle properly illustrates her work with a small animation. There is a baby in the centre and on playing the video, the child is giving different expressions resembling each of the criteria on the score. Apgar's caricature is seen noting down all the scores. Apgar's encountering many birth defects in her work, led her to invent this tool.
Apgar had a challenging job but she also made time for her other interests. She was fond of playing the violin. In her fifties, Apgar started taking flying lessons. An all rounded personality that she was, she also delivered lectures and seminars about birth defects and early detection. Apgar's work is very significant as death rate for newborns in the US dropped from one in 30 in the 1950s to one in 500 today.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2018 12:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).