Find a Job Dating Wine Our Papers Feedback My Stories Monday, Jul 25 2011 12AM 11°C 3AM 10°C 5-Day Forecast School success can be predicted just FIVE minutes after a child is born, scientists claim

A health test given to babies minutes after they are born could reveal how well they will do in secondary school, it has been claimed.
A study of 877,000 Swedish teenagers compared school exam results with their Apgar scores after birth.
The Apgar is a test which rates the newborn's health on a scale of one to ten and how much medical attention the child needs.

All mapped out? Scientists have claimed that how a baby performs in health tests immediately after birth dictates how well they will do in school

Researchers found a link between an Apgar score of below seven and lower intelligence in later life.
It is thought that looking more closely at early problems could help address a child's needs as they grow up.

Dr. Andrea Stuart, an obstetrician at Central Hospital in Helsingborg, Sweden, told Msnbc: 'It is not the Apgar score in itself that leads to lower cognitive abilities.
'It is the reasons leading to a low Apgar score (including asphyxiation, preterm delivery, maternal drug use, infections) that might have an impact on future brain function.'
The study appears in next month's issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

WHAT IS THE APGAR TEST?

The Apgar test is given between one and five minutes after birth.
It evaluates an infant's heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, skin colour and reflex irritability (sneezing or coughing) on a scale of one to ten.
Scores of eight and above are considered to be signs of good health. The test was developed by Dr Virginia Apgar in 1952 and has been a simple and effective way of testing a baby's health since.

Researchers also made the point that only one in 44 newborns with a low Apgar score went on to need special education, so mothers of babies who had low scores did not have cause for concern.
Dr Richard Polin, director of neonatology at Columbia University Medical Center and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn, said: 'Most babies who have Apgar scores of seven  or less do perfectly fine.'
The Apgar system has been used in the delivery room since it was devised by American Dr Virginia Apgar in 1952.
The test is commonly used as a basis for looking at the long-term implications of a baby's health.
This is largest ever study to look at the link between cognitive ability in teenagers and the Apgar test.

School days: Scientists have found a link between scores in the post-birth Apgar health test and intelligence later in life