Newborn baby: What you need to check by Dr. Nnamdi Elenwoke. The newborn baby’s first cry always brings a smile to everyone around him. But, to see if this baby is really healthy, the doctor will perform a physical examination within 24 hours. After the immediate examination of the baby to indicate the Apgar score , a full body check-up is done. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) was an Anaesthesiologist that introduced the Apgar score in 1952 to quickly check the health of a newborn baby. The Apgar test includes 5 factors: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace response, Activity and Respiration. It is usually given to a baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth. This examination starts with the measurement of body weight, length and head circumference of the baby. Then the doctor examines the newborn's skin, head and neck, heart and lungs, abdomen and genitals and also the nervous system and reflexes in order to check all the body systems and organs. Moreover, to b...