LAUSR

Abstract Introduction Apgar score remains the most effective measure of newborn health outcomes in the first few minutes of delivery and it is useful in diagnosing perinatal asphyxia and metabolic acidosis. Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 3011 women at the Baptist Medical Centre in the North East Region of Ghana. Binary logistic regression models were used to determine the factors associated with low fifth minute Apgar score. Results The majority of the newborns weighed 2.5 kg or more at birth (90.7%), were delivered through the vagina (79.8%), and a little over half of them (51.40%) were males. We found evidence that delivery at less than 37 weeks gestation, birth weight of less than 2.5 kg, and caesarean delivery were associated with increased odds of low fifth minute Apgar score. For infants born at term, being born to a multigravid mother was protective against low fifth minute Apgar score while delivery through caesarean section increased the odds of low fifth minute Apgar score among this group of newborns. Among preterm infants, our study found strong evidence that those born with low birth weight ( Conclusion In designing interventions to improve the survival and the Apgar score of newborns, measures to properly diagnose and prevent preterm delivery and low birth weight should be of great concern.