「A snoring baby is a soundly sleeping baby」

Where the claim comes from

An exhausted adult falls into bed and snores loudly, and that is where "snoring means sleeping deeply" comes from. In a child, frequent snoring may instead mean the airway is partly blocked during sleep.

What the evidence says

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical guideline says all children and adolescents should be screened for snoring. It puts the prevalence of childhood obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome at 1.2% to 5.7%. Symptoms include habitual snoring (often with intermittent pauses, snorts or gasps), disturbed sleep and daytime behavioural problems — daytime sleepiness is actually uncommon in young children. The condition is associated with neurocognitive impairment, behavioural problems, failure to thrive, hypertension and cardiac dysfunction. The main risk factors the guideline covers are enlarged adenoids and tonsils and obesity: adenotonsillectomy is the first-line treatment for children with enlarged adenoids and tonsils, and weight loss is recommended alongside for those who are overweight or obese.

What to do instead

• Keep a record for a week or two: how many nights a week your child snores, and whether there is laboured breathing, gasping, snorting or pauses in breathing during sleep.
• Take the record to the appointment.
• Whether a sleep study (polysomnography) or specialist referral is needed is the doctor's call.