Virginia Apgar

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Virginia Apgar

Born June 7, 1909(1909-06-07)
Westfield, New Jersey
Died August 7, 1974 (aged 65)
New York City, New York

Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909–August 7, 1974) was an American physician who specialised in anesthesia and pediatrics. She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and effectively founded the field of neonatology. To the public, however, she is best known as the developer of the Apgar test, a method of assessing the health of newborn babies that has drastically reduced infant mortality over the world.

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[edit] Biography

She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1929, and the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in 1933.

In 1949, Apgar became the first woman to become a full professor at Columbia P&S [1], while she also did clinical and research work at the affiliated Sloane Hospital for Women.[2] In 1959, she earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University.

In 1953, she introduced the first test, called the Apgar score, to assess the health of newborn babies. It is administered one minute and five minutes after birth, and sometimes also at 10 minutes.

While Apgar was frequently the "first woman" or "only woman" in a department, to serve in a position, or win an accolade, she avoided the organized women's movement, proclaiming that "women are liberated from the time they leave the womb".[3]

Apgar never married, and died on August 7, 1974, at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

[edit] Significant works

  • More than sixty scientific papers
  • Countless papers for the popular press
  • Is My Baby All Right? with Joan Beck (1972)

[edit] Recognition and awards

Apgar has continued to earn posthumous recognition for her contributions and achievements. In 1994, she was commemorated on a U.S. postal stamp. In November 1995 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York

[edit] References

  1. ^ Women in Medicine Exhibit Resources
  2. ^ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
  3. ^ Brief biography, National Library of Medicine, The Virginia Apgar Papers.

[edit] External links