Virginia Apgar's work in anesthesiology and infants led to the creation of the Apgar scoring system. This launched the exploration of infant care after birth, leading to a faster identification of birth defects which significantly reduced newborn mortality rates. When selecting a topic that correctly demonstrated the theme, I wanted a subject that made a difference in the field of medicine. When I came across Virginia Apgar in my research I knew that she would become my topic; she completely changed the way that doctors look at infants. Apgar’s exploration and encounters are the reason that still to this day the March of Dimes Foundation focuses their efforts on infants with disabilities to this day. The fact that Apgar was involved with March of Dimes makes the subject more personal. I’ve had encounters with the March of Dimes Foundation because my cousin was born prematurely. My family now does the March of Dimes walk every year. …show more content…
Through many days of searching the internet and databases, I was able to obtain many scans of primary documents that Apgar herself wrote, along with many of her research findings. I also visited the Watson Library at the University of Kansas, my high school library and their databases to find more information. After accumulating sources about the Apgar Score and Virginia Apgar herself, I went on to research the March of Dimes Foundation and birth defects. The sources which helped me the most are those that are directly from Apgar herself. These gave me the best first-hand encounters of what went on during her exploration of