Final answer:
The APGAR test assesses a newborn's health through five criteria: heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and skin color, with heart rate and respiration being the most critical. Scores range from 0 to 10 and are taken at 1 and 5 minutes after birth; scores above 7 generally indicate good health. Option 5.
Step-by-step explanation:
The APGAR test is a simple, fast, and non-invasive method to evaluate the health of a newborn immediately after birth. It checks five vital signs: heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and skin color. Each of these criteria receives a score of 0, 1, or 2, with the scores being taken both one minute and five minutes post-birth. Typically, a score of 7 or higher suggests that the baby is adapting well to the outside world, while scores below 7 may indicate that medical intervention is necessary.
Heart rate and respiration are considered the most critical out of the five criteria, as poor scores in these areas may point to the need for urgent medical action to resuscitate or stabilize the infant. Newborns generally receive an initial score at 1 minute with the expectation of an improvement by the 5-minute assessment. An APGAR score above 8 is seen as normal. However, if the score is below 5, this flags an emergency situation requiring immediate medical attention.