Google doodle celebrates Dr Virginia Apgar, the doctor behind unique newborn score

Today's Google doodle honours 109th birthday of American anesthesiologist Dr Virginia Apgar. Now don't be surprised if you have not heard about her. But her creation may have played a special role after your birth.

Dr Apgar is the woman behind "Apgar score": a unique score given to newborns to assess their health within one to five minutes after the birth.

The Apgar scale is determined by five simple criterion:
Appearance
Pulse
Grimace
Activity
Respiration

One each scale, the newborn baby is given 0 to 2. The final Apgar score ranges from zero to 10. 

Dr Apgar was the first woman to become a professor at the prestigious Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) in 1949.

The Apgar scale was create by her after committed to lowering America's infant mortality rate by investigating the first 24 hours of an infant's life and document trends to distinguish healthy babies from those who require medical attention.

Born on June 7, 1909, Dr Apgar grew up in New Jersey, USA. Severe medical problems in her family, led her to develop an interest in science and medicine. 

She a residency in surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) in 1937. She later joined anesthesiology departmemt and became involved in treating children and soon provided the contribution to medicine for which she is best known.

Dr Apgar gave lectures across the US and published over 60 scientific articles. In 1972, she co-wrote a book called "Is My Baby All Right?" which explained the causes and treatment of a variety of common birth defects.