EVALUATION OF APGAR SCORE IN NEONATES BORN TO TEENAGE MOTHERS

Background: Apgar score is measured after the baby is born. This will give the idea of the health status of the neonate. The aim of the study is to assess the association of birth weight and the Apgar score. Methods: We collected data on the birth weights and the 1 min and 5 min Apgar score of new born infants in department of gynecology and obstetrics GSL Medical College and General hospital. Antenatal woman with age 15-19 years were registered from June 2013 to july2014were included as the study subjects Compared to babies with normal Apgar score, infants with low Apgar Scores were found to born with low and very low birth weights. Results: Totally 123 individuals are in normal birth weight category. zero individuals are comes under poor apgar score category, one individuals are in normal apgar score category comprising about 8% with in total normal birth weight category, 122 individu- als are in good apgar score category comprising about 99.2.%with in total normal birth weight category. Out of 238 neonates individual born 14 (5.9%) in low score category, 30 (12.6%) in intermediate score and 194 (81.5%) in normal score. Apgar score was statistically highly significant association with age of the mother (p=0.001). Conclusion: Apgar score is a useful, early indicator of health and birth weight of new born infants