Baby Allergies
Have you ever heard of Infant Sleep Disorder? If you have a new infant, you're probably painfully aware that their sleeping habits are different from an adult's. They need to sleep significantly more than you (often as much as 16 hours a day), but they don't sleep the same hours you do and they have to wake up many times in the middle of the night. This behavior is normal, but some babies can develop sleeping disorders that can be very serious. Humans of all ages need sleep to grow and regenerate, and babies especially need their sleep to do this.
Baby Allergies
If your baby is waking up excessively often, you might want to consider that another problem is at work.
When talking to your baby's doctor about infant sleep disorder, consider these issues:
Colic
Allergies to food or formula
Airborne allergens
Separation anxiety
Pain caused by teething, gas, ear aches, or another health issue
Discomfort caused by pajamas or blankets, or heat, cold, thirst, etc.
Pinworms
Urinary track infection
Gasto-esophageal reflux
Habit
Baby Allergies
If none of these options apply and your infant is still having excessive difficulty sleeping, it may be caused by a sleeping disorder that is more serious. Sleep apnea, for example, is when breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep. Sleep labs have found babies that stop breathing for about 20 seconds when suffering from sleep apnea. This can cause a baby to gasp, gag, or even turn blue.
Baby Allergies
There are three different types of infant sleep disorder:
Central Sleep Apnea: the brain doesn't signal the muscles to tell them to breath, this is the most common in babies.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Occurs when blockage is obstructing the breathing pathways.
Mixed Apnea: combination between Central Sleep Apnea and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
No one is completely sure what causes sleep apnea in babies, but it's most likely that the central nervous system causes the problem because it is immature. There are many other possibilities, such as problems with the heart or blood vessels, birth defects, infections, bleeding in the brain, respiratory disease, gastrointestinal problems, chemical imbalances, and exposure to drugs or poisons.
Periodic breathing, on the other hand, is normal for infants under 6 months of age. A child might breathe quickly for a short period, then stop breathing for about 15 seconds, then resume breathing normally. Doctors can tell whether a baby has sleep apnea or periodic breathing by measuring the oxygen in the baby's blood, monitoring the breathing and heart rate, and possibly taking an X-ray. A doctor can even take a polysomnogram, which monitors different aspects of the baby's sleep.
It's very important that a parent recognizes the signs of infant sleep disorders and take care of it right away. Infant Sleep Disorder can be fatal if an infant's oxygen levels or its heart rate gets too low. Even if an infant survives a severe episode, apparent life-threatening event (referred to as ALTE) has been found to cause long-term complications and increases the risk of unexpected death. Luckily, infant sleep disorder is treatable, so if you're concerned about how your baby is breathing during the night, do not hesitate to talk to your doctor.
