By Vanessa Chalmers Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 23:30 BST, 7 May 2019 | Updated: 23:30 BST, 7 May 2019
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Babies considered within a 'normal range' of health at birth have a higher risk of illness, brain damage and death, a major study has found.
In the minutes after birth, medics assess a baby's health - such as pulse, reactions and breathing – through an Apgar score.
Parents are reassured by midwives their child is 'within the normal range' if they get a score of seven and above on a ten-point scale.
But this has now been disputed by researchers who have, for the first time, investigated the health outcomes of babies in the normal range.
Babies that are considered within a 'normal range' of health at birth are still at a high risk of illness, brain damage and death, a large study by Swedish researchers found
Swedish scientists analysed data from more than 1.5million infants born at full term (37 weeks) between 1999 and 2016.
Infants with Apgar scores of seven to nine were compared with those with an Apgar score of ten – the highest score possible.
They have a higher risk of infection, breathing problems, and long term conditions such as epilepsy and cerebral palsy than babies who score ten.
For example, compared with a one-minute Apgar score of ten, a one-minute Apgar score of nine was associated with a 1.5-fold higher odds of infections.
As time went on, the odds grew higher - 2.1 fold at five minutes, and 3.3 fold at ten minutes, the researchers found.
However, they added the risk is still low and certainly lower than for babies with scores outside of the normal range - below seven.
The Apgar scoreis a convenient method for reporting the status of the newborn infant immediately after birth and the response to resuscitation if needed.
The Apgar score comprises five components - color, heart rate, reflexes, muscle tone and
