Children’s Specialty Clinic offers sleep disorder clinic

When Laura and Justin Skiles of Springfield brought their twin girls, Mara Ann (in blue) and Reaghan, (in pink)  home from St. John’s Hospital after a premature birth at 29 weeks gestation and several weeks spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, both girls were on sleep apnea monitors.

Reaghan – born weighing 2 pounds, 11 ounces, was on caffeine to stimulate her breathing. Mara weighed 3 pounds, 14 ounces, but still needed a monitor like her sister.

Sleep apnea (the absence of breathing for 20 seconds or more while sleeping) among preemies is common, and obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder among older children, according to Dean Rising, M.D., who treats a full range of children’s sleep disorders at
St. John’s Children’s Specialty Clinic. He and the registered respiratory therapists at the clinic treated Mara Ann and Reaghan until they outgrew their sleep apnea after a few months and no longer required the apnea monitors.

"It was great to have all of them, in addition to our pediatrician, helping us take care of our twins after we brought them home from the hospital,” says the twins’ mom, Laura Skiles.

Other sleep disorders treated at the clinic include obstructive sleep apnea, sleep talking/walking and night terrors. Obstructive sleep apnea is often caused by large tonsils and adenoids and can be resolved with surgery, Dr. Rising says. Medication can be used to treat sleepwalking/talking and night terrors, but he tries to treat the problem behaviorally first, he says.

“We educate parents about how children sleep and we work with them to reinforce healthy sleep habits, like not sharing a bed with their children. Waking children an hour after they fall asleep may help resolve night terrors and sleepwalking/talking,” Dr. Rising says.

Dr. Rising (pictured) also performs hospital inpatient consultations on children who have had at least one “apparent life-threatening event” in which the child has stopped breathing or their breathing has been severely compromised.

Car seat trials

Premature babies sometimes have breathing problems when sitting in a regular infant car seat. The registered respiratory therapists at St. John’s Children’s Specialty Clinic are certified car seat fitters and can determine whether a baby going home from the hospital should ride in a car seat or a car bed, through a “car seat trial.”

The trial is done using the baby’s car seat. The baby is positioned in the car seat and his or her heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels are monitored for a period of time. If the trial indicates that the baby does not tolerate sitting in the car seat, a car bed will be needed until the baby can sit up safely. St. John’s loans car beds to parents for a refundable deposit.
The sleep disorders clinic at St. John’s Children’s Specialty Clinic treats newborns through high-school age children.

For more information about the sleep disorders clinic or other St. John’s Children’s Specialty Clinic services, please call 820-2229 or toll free 1-877-890-5437.

Children’s Specialty Clinic Services

Children’s Sleep Disorders Clinic
Cystic Fibrosis Clinic
Pediatric Endocrinology/ Diabetes Clinics
Pediatric Gastroenterology Clinic
Genetics Clinic
Hemophilia Clinic
Juvenile Arthritis Clinic
Muscular Dystrophy Clinic
Pediatric Nephrology Clinic
Spina Bifida Program