The Apgar score is named in honor of one of the first pediatricians to specialise in newborn (neonatal) care, Dr. Virginia Apgar. She developed this scoring system to identify babies at risk for complications or bad outcome from delivery (cerebral palsy). It was designed to be simple, repeatable (that is, different observers arrive at about the same score), and predictive.
The Rating Scale
The baby is rated on a scale of zero to two on the following five signs:
 Appearance or colour
 Pulse or heart rate 
 Grimace or reflex irritability
 Activity or muscle tone 
 Respiration