Neonatal exams At birth, the newborn baby undergoes many physical changes (Fraser & Cooper, 2009). The most dramatic and difficult moment occurs when the newborn takes his first breath (Meeks & Hallsworth, 2010). This breathing triggers changes in the newborn's heart, lungs, blood flow, and every other system (Coad & Dunstall, 2009). During the first minutes to 6 hours of life, the newborn is believed to be transitioning from intrauterine to extrauterine life (Sinha, Miall, & Jardine, 2012). It is during this period that the newborn needs close observations to evaluate his progress in his new life, thus demonstrating the importance of newborn examinations in neonatal care (Fraser & Cooper, 2009). The APGAR test (Queensland neonatal guideline, 2009) is routinely performed immediately at birth. These tests, usually carried out one and five minutes after birth, evaluate the newborn's ability to adapt to extrauterine life (Michaelides, 2012). The APGAR score uses five different factors to evaluate the child's status: hearing rate, breathing rate, efforts, muscle tone, reflex ability and color (Fraser & Cooper, 2009). The APGAR score is checked periodically for several minutes to give an indication of how well the infant is adapting to life and whether or not his or her skills are improving (Sinha, Miall & Jardine, 2012). APGAR scores are not functional predictors for future problems (Coad and Dunstall, 2009). The mostly low APGAR scores don't detract from the whole story; Despite the rapid changes that occur at birth, some may only need a few minutes or hours to stabilize (Farrell & Sittlington, 2009). This is one of the reasons why the reliability of this examination tool has been questioned due to numerous limitations (Kenner & ...... middle of paper ......terine life (Michaelides, 2012) Midwives, pediatricians, and parents rely on the results of various tests to determine appropriate actions when planning their care (Durham & Chapman, 2013). interact with mothers and newborns from the moment of birth (McDonald, 2008) recommend that midwives undertake additional training to enable them to carry out assessments effectively. In conclusion, it can be seen that the newborn examination plays an important role in the assessment of the baby. the well-being of newborns and that midwives must be equipped with the necessary skills to conduct such examinations and mothers or family members encouraged and involved in the examinations as well as in planning the care of newborns.