A closer look
Before 1952, doctors practically ignored newborns in the delivery room, often letting struggling infants die because they assumed nothing could be done. Anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar got so fed up with this fatalistic negligence that she scribbled a simple 10-point checklist on a napkin. By forcing doctors to actually look at a baby’s heart rate, breathing, and muscle tone within sixty seconds of birth, her cynical but brilliant scoring system immediately slashed infant mortality rates worldwide.
