Virginia Apgar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dr.
Virginia Apgar
MD
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Virginia Apgar (July 6, 1959)
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| Born | June 7, 1909 Westfield, New Jersey, U.S.
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| Died | August 7, 1974 (aged 65) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Mount Holyoke College Columbia University Johns Hopkins University |
| Occupation | Anesthesiologist |
| Years active | 1937–1974 |
| Known for | Inventor of the Apgar score |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Doctor |
| Field | Anesthesiology, teratology |
| Sub-specialties | Obstetric anesthesiology |
| Notable works | Is My Baby All Right? A Guide to Birth Defects, with Joan Beck |
Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909 – August 7, 1974) was an American physician, obstetrical anesthesiologist and medical researcher, best known as the inventor of the Apgar Score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after birth. She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and introduced obstetrical considerations to the established field of neonatology.
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Early life and education
Apgar was born and raised in Westfield, New Jersey, the daughter of Helen May (Clarke) and Charles Emory Apgar. Her father was a business executive and amateur astronomer whose amateur radio work exposed an espionage ring during World War I.
She was the youngest of three children. Her older brother died early from tuberculosis, and her other brother had a chronic illness.
Music was an integral part of family life, with frequent family music sessions. Apgar played the violin and her brother played piano and organ. She traveled with her violin, often playing in amateur chamber quartets wherever she happened to be.
She graduated from Westfield High School in 1925, knowing that she wanted to be a doctor.
Apgar graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1929, where she studied zoology with minors in physiology and chemistry. In 1933, she graduated fourth in her class from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) and completed a residency in surgery at P&S in 1937.
She was discouraged by Allen Whipple, the chairman of surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, from continuing her career as a surgeon because he had seen many women attempt to be successful surgeons and ultimately fail. He instead encouraged her to practice anesthesiology.
Apgar decided to continue her career in anesthesiology. She trained for six months under Ralph Waters at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he had established the first anesthesiology department in the United States. In a 1937 photograph of Waters and his residents, she is the only woman among Waters and fifteen other men.
She then studied for a further six months under Ernest Rovenstine in New York at Bellevue Hospital. She received a certification as an anesthesiologist in 1937, and returned to P&S in 1938 as director of the newly formed division of anesthesia. She later received a master's degree in public health at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, graduating in 1959.
Work and research
Apgar was the first woman to head a specialty division at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (now NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital) and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. In conjunction with Allen Whipple, she started P&S's anesthesia division. She was placed in charge of the division's administrative duties and was also tasked with co-ordinating the staffing of the division and its work throughout the hospital. Throughout much of the 1940s, she was an administrator, teacher, recruiter, coordinator and practicing physician.
In 1949, P&S establish an official department of anesthesiology. Due to her lack of research, Apgar was not made the head of the department as was expected and the job was given to her colleague, Emmanuel Papper. Apgar was given a faculty position at P&S.
Obstetrics
In 1949, Apgar became the first woman to become a full professor at P&S, where she remained until 1959. During this time, she also did clinical and research work at the affiliated Sloane Hospital for Women, still a division of NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital.
In 1959, Apgar left Columbia and earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. From 1959 until her death in 1974, Apgar worked for the March of Dimes Foundation, serving as vice president for medical affairs and directing its research program to prevent and treat birth defects.
In 1967, Apgar became vice president and director of basic research at The National Foundation-March of Dimes.
During the rubella pandemic of 1964–65, Apgar became an advocate for universal vaccination to prevent mother-to-child transmission of rubella. Rubella can cause serious congenital disorders if a woman becomes infected while pregnant. In New York City alone, congenital rubella affected 1% of all babies born at that time.
Apgar was also a lecturer (1965–1971) and then clinical professor (1971–1974) of pediatrics at Cornell University School of Medicine, where she taught teratology (the study of birth defects).
Apgar served the National Foundation as Director of Basic Medical Research (1967–1968) and vice-president for Medical Affairs (1971–1974). In 1973, she was appointed a lecturer in medical genetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
The Apgar Score
In 1952, she developed the 10-point Apgar score to assist physicians and nurses in assessing the status of newborns.
Each newborn is given a score of 0, 1 or 2 (a score of 2 meaning the newborn is in optimal condition, 0 being in distress) in each of the following categories:
- heart rate,
- respiration,
- color,
- muscle tone and
- reflex irritability.
Compiled scores for each newborn can range between 0 and 10, with 10 being the best possible condition for a newborn. The scores were to be given to a newborn one minute after birth, and additional scores could be given in five-minute increments to guide treatment if the newborn's condition did not sufficiently improve. By the 1960s, many hospitals in the United States were using the Apgar score consistently. In the 21st century, the score continues to be used to provide an accepted and convenient method for reporting the status of the newborn infant immediately after birth.
Personal life and death
Apgar never married or had children.
She died of cirrhosis on August 7, 1974, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. She is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.
Interesting facts about Virginia Apgar
- Apgar traveled thousands of miles each year to speak to widely varied audiences about the importance of early detection of birth defects and the need for more research in this area.
- She proved an excellent ambassador for the National Foundation, and the annual income of that organization more than doubled during her tenure there.
- In 1972, she co-authored a book Is My Baby All Right?, written with Joan Beck.
- She was the first to hold a faculty position in the new area of pediatrics.
- Apgar published over sixty scientific articles and numerous shorter essays for newspapers and magazines during her career.
- In 1973 she was also elected Woman of the Year in Science by the Ladies Home Journal.
- Throughout her career, Apgar maintained that being female had not imposed significant limitations on her medical career.
- Her hobbies was music. She could play the violin very well.
- During the 1950s, a friend introduced her to instrument-making, and together they made two violins, a viola and a cello.
- She was an enthusiastic gardener and enjoyed fly-fishing, golfing and stamp collecting.
- In her fifties, Apgar started taking flying lessons, stating that her goal was to someday fly under New York's George Washington Bridge.
Legacy
Apgar has continued to earn posthumous recognition for her contributions and achievements. In 1994, she was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 20¢ Great Americans series postage stamp. In November 1995, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. In 1999, she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project. On June 7, 2018, Google celebrated Apgar's 109th birthday with a Google Doodle.
Honors and awards
- Honorary doctorate, Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1964)
- Honorary doctorate, Mount Holyoke College (1965)
- Distinguished Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1966)
- Elizabeth Blackwell Award, from the American Women's Medical Association (1966)
- Honorary doctorate, New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry (1967)
- Alumni Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1973)
- Ralph M. Waters Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists (1973)
- Woman of the Year in Science, Ladies Home Journal (1973)
- Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the American Public Health Association, and the New York Academy of Sciences.
- Inductee into the New Jersey Hall of Fame (2020)
See also
In Spanish: Virginia Apgar para niños
