A Doctor's Guide to The New Ballard Score

There are several ways to determine the gestational age of your baby, one can take a history on when was the last day of the mom's menstruation or Ultrasonography can be used (valid for pregnancy <20). The New Ballard Score is a system created by Dr. Jeanne Ballard, MD to assess the gestational age of neonates after they are born. These test are best performed within 12 hours after the birth of the neonate. There are 6 Neuromuscular parameters/criterias and 6 Physical parameters/criterias.

-refer to the New Ballard Score Sheet for scoring purposes-

Neuromuscular Maturity
(1) posture
(2) square window (wrist)
(3) arm recoil
(4) popliteal angle
(5) scarf sign
(6) heel to ear
Physical Maturity
(1) skin
(2) lanugo hair
(3) plantar surface
(4) breast
(5) Eye and ear
(6) Genitals


New Ballard Score = Sum of points for each parameter
The total score reflects the gestational age of the neonate (in weeks)