Virginia Apgar, American Neonatologist

Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909 - August 7, 1974) was an American pediatric anesthesiologist. She was a leader in the fields of anesthesiology and teratology, and effectively founded the field of neonatology. In 1949, Apgar became the first woman to become a full professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (CUCPS) while she also did clinical and research work at the affiliated Sloane Hospital for Women. In 1959, she earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. In 1953, she introduced the first test, called the Apgar score, to assess the health of newborn babies. The Apgar test is typically administered one minute to five minutes after birth. During the rubella pandemic of 1964-65, Apgar became an outspoken advocate for universal vaccination to prevent mother-to-child transmission of rubella. From 1959 until her death in 1974, Apgar worked for the March of Dimes Foundation, serving as vice president for Medical Affairs and directing its research program to prevent and treat birth defects. While Apgar was frequently the first 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'. She never married, and died in 1974 at the age of 65

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Advocate Anesthesiologist Anesthesiology Apgar Dimes Obstetrics Pediatric Score Teratology

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