Pediatric Sleep
Pediatric Sleep Medicine in Charlotte, NC
Sleep disorders in children affect the entire family. Gingras Sleep Medicine understands this all too well. Let us help solve your child’s sleep problem to provide them, and you, with better nights and brighter days.
Gingras Sleep Medicine recognizes that children are not simply small adults. They have special sleep challenges and needs. Dr. Jeannine Gingras is a caring pediatric-trained sleep specialist in Charlotte, North Carolina with board certifications in sleep medicine. She is a recognized leader in pediatric sleep disorders.
Having practiced sleep medicine exclusively since 1999, Dr. Gingras is uniquely qualified to evaluate and treat the full spectrum of infant and childhood sleep disorders, from breathing disorders due to prematurity or sleep apnea, to sleep disorders in toddlers and teenagers.
Dr. Gingras is uniquely qualified in pediatric sleep evaluations because of her board certifications including:
- Pediatric sleep medicine (American Board of Pediatrics with a sub-specialty certificate in sleep medicine)
- Neonatal/perinatal medicine (American Board of Pediatrics with a sub-specialty certificate in neonatal/perinatal medicine)
Having built and directed two pediatric sleep programs in the Charlotte area, as well as an infant sleep apnea center, Dr. Gingras has evaluated hundreds of preterm and term infants for apnea of prematurity, apnea of infancy, and SIDS home monitoring.
About Pediatric Sleep
Sleep disorders can impact your child’s life in many ways. Sleep-deprived children can have fragmented or poor sleep that can result in daytime mood and behavior problems, inattention, inability to stay on task, poor school performance, hyperactivity, mood swings, aggression, and more. Signs of a potential childhood sleep disorder include:
- Snoring
- Breathing that pauses during sleep
- Waking up with a headache
- Awakening feeling grouchy, unrefreshed, or ill
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Daytime mood or behavioral difficulties
- Restless sleep
- Complaints of leg or arm pains
- “Growing pains”
- Difficulty getting up in the morning
- Falling asleep at inappropriate places or times
- Poor growth
Infant Sleep
Sleep apnea in preterm and term infants causes infants to stop breathing for periods of time. Sleep in infants is usually central in nature; the brain is immature and babies experience breathing pauses during sleep.
Central apnea is common in extremely preterm infants. However, many preterm babies do not resolve the apnea or apnea is associated with lowering of blood oxygen or blood pressure and is called apnea of prematurity.
Another infant sleep disorder is apparent life-threatening events (ALTE). Many of these babies are discharged from the hospital on a home apnea monitor (HAM). The home apnea monitor records and stores significant apnea events or low heart rate events in a memory module. The module can be downloaded and the events reviewed.
Dr. Gingras is an expert in the evaluation and follow up of infants with apparent life-threatening events.
Potential candidates for home apnea monitoring are:
- Former premature infants with unresolved apnea of prematurity
- Infants who are exhibiting apnea, bradycardia (low heart rate), or “blue spells”
- Infants admitted to the pediatric ICU or pediatric floor of a hospital due to an ALTE
- Infants at risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Infants who may have apnea secondary to suspected gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)
Pediatric Sleep Conditions
Dr. Gingras evaluates and treats the full spectrum of infant and pediatric sleep disorders including:
- Apnea of Prematurity
- Apnea of Infancy
- Apparent Life Threatening Events
- Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
- Idiopathic Hypersomnia
- Insomnia
- Napping
- Narcolepsy
- Nightmares
- Night Terrors
- Nocturia
- Obesity & Sleep
- Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
- Restless Legs Syndrome
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Sleep Apnea
- Sleep Deprivation
- Sleepwalking
- Snoring
- Evaluation of Siblings of those with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Pediatric Sleep Treatments
After a detailed evaluation, Dr. Gingras discusses sleep treatment options thoroughly with parents and their children. There are many types of sleep treatments, and the type of treatment that your baby, child, or teenager receives depends on many factors such as age, type of sleep disorder, and overall general health. Some of the sleep treatment options recommended by Dr. Gingras for infant and pediatric sleep disorders include:
- Adenoidectomy
- Behavioral intervention
- Cognitive therapy
- CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)
- Home apnea monitoring (HAM)
- Improved sleep hygiene
- Medication, including possible iron supplementation
- Parental education and support
- Recommendations for continuing or discontinuing HAM
- Tonsillectomy
- Weight loss for obesity
Gingras Sleep Blog
The latest on developments in sleep medicine and news about our practice from Dr. Jeannine Gingras.
Patient Education
Learn about sleep condition definitions and treatment options in our patient education library.