While most newborns make the transition from their mother's womb to the outside world without any problems, some of the lesser fortunate ones undergo some degree of distress and need special attention or at least require constant monitoring till their vital parameters normalize and stabilize. The Apgar score, named after the doctor who devised it, is a useful tool to assess the condition of a newborn. The scoring is usually done immediately after birth, and then if required, every 5 minutes till the baby's appearance, pulse, reflex irritability, activity, and respiration, becomes normal.

With each of the parameters rated from 0 to 2, the final score ranges between 0 and 10, the lower values indicating aggressive medical attention and the higher scores being normal or close to normalcy.