Letter from Virginia Apgar to Herbert E. Poch

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The Apgar scoring system was adopted rapidly in the U.S. after 1960, but there were disputes over who should do the actual scoring. Poch, a pediatrician who had trained with Apgar, thought it should be someone other than the attending obstetrician. In her response to his letter, she agreed; the person who delivered the baby, whether physician or midwife, was much less objective and tended to give a higher score.