The New Ballard Score

www.ballardscore.com

NEUROMUSCULAR MATURITY

MATURITY RATING
SIGN

SCORE

SIGN
TOTAL SCORE

WEEKS

-1

SCORE

-10

20
Posture

-5

22
0
24

Square

Window

5
26

Arm

10
28
Recoil

15
30

Popliteal

20
32

Angle

25
34

Scarf

30
36

Sign

35
38

Heel To

Ear

40
40
TOTAL NEUROMUSCULAR SCORE
45
42

50
44
SCORE

SIGN
SIGN SCORE

-1

5
Sticky,

gelatinous,

superficial

cracking,

parchment,

leathery,

smooth pink,

friable,

red,
peeling &/or

pale areas,

deep cracking,

Skin

visible veins

cracked,

transparent

translucent

rash, few veins

rare veins

no vessels
wrinkled

Lanugo

none

sparse

abundant

thinning

bald areas

mostly bald
Plantar

heel-toe

>50 mm

faint red

anterior

creases ant.

creases over

40-50mm: -1

transverse
no crease

marks

2/3

entire sole

<40mm: -2

crease only

Surface
barely

flat areola

stippled areola

raised

full areola
imperceptable

areola

Breast

perceptable

no bud

1-2 mm bud

5-10 mm bud

3-4 mm bud
lids fused

lids open

sl. curved

well-curved

formed &
firm

thick cartilage

loosely: -1

pinna flat

pinna; soft;

pinna; soft but

Eye / Ear

instant

ear stiff

tightly: -2

stays folded

slow recoil

ready recoil
recoil
Genitals

scrotum flat,

scrotum

testes in

testes

testes

testes
empty,

upper canal,

descending,

down,

pendulous,

smooth

faint rugae

rare rugae

few rugae

good rugae

deep rugae
(Male)
clitoris

prominent

prominent

majora &

majora

majora cover

Genitals

clitoris &

clitoris &

large,

prominent &

minora equally

clitoris &
small labia

enlarging

minora

labia flat

prominent

minora

(Female)

minora

minora

small
TOTAL PHYSICAL MATURITY SCORE

Signature of Examiner

Gestation by Dates

weeks
Birth date
Hour

am

pm
APGAR
1 min
5min

Scoring
Gest. Age

by Maturity

Rating
________weeks
Time of

Exam
Date_________

am

Hour______ pm
Age at Exam

_________hours

M.D. / R.N.

References :

Ballard JL, Khoury JC, Wedig K,

et al: New Ballard Score,
expanded to include extremely
premature infants. J Pediatrics
1991; 119:417-423.

http://ballardscore.com/Pages/S
coreSheet.aspx